Shards of a Crystal
by ultimateTORINOR
Summary: The campers of TDI and Chef are alone in a new world, tasked with saving it from an evil tyrant. Along the way, certain campers will do all they can towards this end, while others will decide that an evil tyrant isn't such a bad thing after all.
1. Darkness Prevails

**Hey everyone, ultimateTORINOR here. Here to tell you that I don't own Total Drama Island. This beginning chapter just popped into my head after reading some fantasy stories on the site. For the record, I myself read a lot of fantasy stories. This first chapter does not have any of the TDI characters in it, as it is about a different world. This is the first fic of mine that I am creating something entirely new, although I do borrow a few names and such. So, I would appreciate it immensely if you all were to read and review. Thanks and enjoy the first chapter of Shards of a Crystal!

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Talen looked up from the battlements of the castle, and cringed at what he saw. The normally peaceful forest below, filled with lush plants and trees, and an abundance of animals, was now in flames.

_The Army has come_, he thought in horror, _they have come to take the Crystal!_

He had heard the stories, of how a massive army of great strength had massed in the south. Led by a madman, they had marched northwards, looking for one thing. As they marched they ransacked any village or haven they came across. They stole, raped, and even _killed_ anyone who even remotely looked at any of the soldiers the wrong way. The army recruited every man they could find, and by the time they had reached the Castle Nabudis gates, the ranks of the Army had rose to rival a million. Talen doubted they had half that number in the entire kingdom. He thought about what the Army desperately craved, what they had killed to find: the legendary Crystal. It was a symbol of hope for Talen's kingdom, and it was said to hold immense power. Protected by his people for as long as anyone could remember, as he remembered his grandfather going on about how _beautiful_ the thing was. If the murdering savages were able to get the Crystal…Talen shuddered at the thought of it.

_It would mark the end of the world_, he thought. A land ruled by darkness.

The Gates of Nabudis stood for one final second, and then finally fell in upon themselves. The invaders poured into the streets, and reached the first house.

Talen turned away from the sickening display, away form the screams, and thought of a different time. A time when the Army didn't threaten the peace of the land, a time when the forests were green with life and not black with death and ashes. Lost in his daydream, Talen barely noticed the King rushing towards him. He sank into a hardly correct bow as the King approached.

"Talen, we must hurry. There is still a chance to save us all…" The king looked at Talen for a brief moment, before putting his hand on the young man's shoulder.

"Lad, I know you grieve for the fallen, but we must act fast, or the chance will be lost forever." The king turned away, and began to walk.

Talen nodded, and fell into step behind his ruler. "Sire, where are we going?" he asked.

The king answered, "We are going to the Temple. We are going to save the Crystal."

Talen was going to ask what he meant, but before he could, his eyes fell on the Temple, and he was struck speechless in its beauty.

The Temple, as Talen had always thought of it, had seemingly been created from nothing by the Gods themselves, so great was it's beauty. Even with the doom impending the kingdom, the Temple stood out like a beacon of light. Talen was swept from his thoughts as more screams of the dying reached his ears. They reached the steps, and went inside the noble building, shutting the doors behind them.

The Temple was silent, and Talen suddenly felt at peace, finally away from the clashes of steel, from the crackling fires, from the screams of the dying men, women, and even children many stories below him. He turned his attention to the object in front of him. His mouth dropped open, and he instantly dropped to one knee. He had never seen an object so pure.

The king looked at him and smiled. "It's beautiful, isn't it? I would like to join you on the floor, but we have a task to perform, and the Army will probably be here within minutes."

Talen immediately got up. "My apologies Sire. So what is it we are doing here, exactly?"

The king looked him in the eye. "We are here to save the Crystal, Talen. The only way we are going to able to do that is to transport it somewhere."

Talen looked shocked. "But Sire" he protested, "If they can get into our castle here, they will be able to find it anywhere we put it in this world."

The king smiled at him. "So bright for one so young. We are not here to transport the Crystal to somewhere in _this_ world. We are going to try to bring the Crystal to _another world_."

Talen looked at him. "How is that possible?"

The king looked at the object in question, and said, "The Crystal is an object of great power. If we can channel the energy of the Crystal properly, we may be able to do it."

Talen, too, looked at the Crystal, and asked, "Why do you need me, Sire? There are so many others…" He trailed off as the king stared at him.

"No, Talen," the king started to say, "It must be you. A good spirit visited me in a dream. She told me to always keep you close, to keep you by my side for when the time comes. I believe that the time is now here. Place your hand on the Crystal, Talen, for without guidance, the Crystal could go anywhere, and our world will never be free."

Talen placed his hand on the Crystal obediently. "Your Majesty, is there a specific place you want the Crystal to go?" he asked his liege, confused.

The king smiled again. "Yes, a place called Wawanakwa."

Talen looked at him again, and asked, "Wawanakwa? What could possibly be there?"

The king shrugged, and replied, "That is one thing the good spirits did not tell me."

Talen then heard faint banging sounds on the door of the holy place. The king, looked at the door, concerned, and looked back at Talen. "We must do this _now_. They are coming."

Talen nodded. The king closed his eyes, and began to recite words from an ancient text he had open in front of him. Talen tried to understand the words, but it was in some language he had no knowledge of. The door to the temple burst open at the same moment the noble king pointed his finger at the Crystal. Talen, his hand on the Crystal, could feel it getting hotter and hotter, until he thought that his flesh was burning.

The next few moments seemed to go by in slow motion. Talen saw enemy soldiers, dressed in a hateful blade garb, with wicked curved blades, calmly walk over to his king, no, his _friend_, and stab him in the back. The king jerked, sword protruding from his chest, and then slumped to the floor. Talen cried out, horrified. The next soldier turned to him, and swung his sword in a wide, curving arc. Talen next felt a white hot pain in his chest, the wind suddenly rushing through his hair, and then everything was gone.

Talen awoke whether it was moments after, or hours, he couldn't tell. He stood up shakily, swayed, and then steadied himself. He studied his surroundings, only to find that he was in a dark cave of some sort. He couldn't see anything, and the object in his hands gave off the only light he could see. Astonished, he looked down at the Crystal, which was now pulsating with light. He felt it tremble violently in his hands, the Crystal, the pride and joy of his people, suddenly burst apart. Talen cried out in fear, and watched, as a piece of the great Crystal seemed to embed itself in the wall. He looked upon that magic for a moment, and suddenly felt weak, and the pain in his chest multiplied tenfold. He felt his chest, only to recoil in horror as his hand felt wet. He thought back to the Temple, but thinking seemed to get harder and harder. He dimly remembered a soldier swinging a sword at him, and then all was black. Talen's last thought was that he had succeeded in his mission, that he had made his kingdom proud, before he collapsed to the floor. Talen fell into darkness, and moments later stopped breathing entirely.

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**So, how did I do? Is that a good first chapter? I myself think it was okay. But I really want to know what you all think. If you're wondering, all of the TDI cast appears in the next chapter, and the adventure will finally start (maybe). When will I get that certain chapter up? I'm not sure, but I won't be motivated to write more until I get a review or two. I hate blackmailing people to reviewing, but I like reviews. They make me feel good. Also, the Crystal broke up into 22 shards, one for each camper. What will the shards do? Stay tuned to find out! Remember to please review it you could, and thank you for taking a few moments out of your day to read the first chapter!**


	2. A Lot of Colors

**Hey guys, ultimateTORINOR here, back with an all new chapter for Shards of a Crystal! Also, it's to say I lied. The TDI cast doesn't really appear in this chapter much, unless you count the last few lines. Sorry. This chapter is more about Telan, and what role he still has to play in the story. I still don't own anything about TDI, but I do own Telan (he's my first OC). Also, thanks for everyone who reviewed so far! 5 reviews, and I really hope to get more! You are all awesome! Anyway, I hope you look over the fact that all of your favorite characters don't appear, and please enjoy the next chapter of...Shards of a Crystal!

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Talen felt himself slowly lift off the floor. Going higher, he looked around alarmed, and noticed a light ever expanding across the ceiling of his tomb. He looked down at the floor and noticed a person lying on the floor, with a pool of blood surrounding him. Talen studied the still figure a moment more, before drawing back in alarm.

_Is that…me lying down there? Am I…dead? _

Not wishing to see his body any longer, he turned back towards the light, and was astonished at what he saw.

People of all shapes, sizes, and colors were waiting for him, hand in hand. A brilliant sun shone behind them all, but it was not a harsh, glaring light, but a gentle, caressing glow that seemed to illuminate that wondrous place beyond the light. One man stepped forward towards Talen, and smiled at him. Talen smiled back.

_There is no fear here,_ he thought,_ nor is there pain or death. There seems to be only light._

The man held out his hand, as if waiting for Talen to take it. Talen floated up to them, that happy group, and reached out for the man's hand. Inches away, Talen hit what seemed to be brick wall. Astonished, he tried again, but to no avail. He reached out desperately for the man, for him to take his hand and pull him towards that paradise. The man's smile turned sorrowful, and he slowly withdrew his hand and stepped back into the numerous crowds.

Talen shouted, _Wait! Please, come back! Take me with you!_

No one seemed to hear the young spirit, and the light slowly began to fade. Talen watched, helpless, as the light was replaced by the darkness, and then he was alone. He watched the ceiling, waiting against hope that the light would again appear. He waited, and then slowly sank to the floor in despair.

_Do not cry, Telan, citizen of Nabudis. You are not alone. I am here with you._

Telan looked up swiftly, and was astonished to find a woman floating in the air next to him. The woman floated gently down to sit beside him.

Telan looked at her, puzzled. _Who are you? Why are we here?_

The woman smiled comfortingly at him. _We are both here because we have a role still left to play. _

Telan stared at her. _A role? What kind of role? And you still haven't told me your name._

The woman looked him in the eyes and told him, _You will know when the time comes. Yours is a most pivotal role, Telan citizen of Nabudis. As to your second question…_

The woman slowly floated away from him to the center of the room. Telan looked up at her, and then his mouth opened in shock as she began to change shape. She was a man now, back bent from a hard life. That form faded, only to be replaced by that of a child, carefree and innocent. Telan stood up, watching this event with wide eyes. Every form that existed in his world, she seemed to imitate for a moment, then, finally, she returned to her woman form. She smiled at him. _We are the balance of all things. We are the life of all things. All things must be heard. We are the Crystal. Will you help us, Telan, citizen of Nabudis? _

Telan stared at the woman/Crystal for a few moments. Trembling, he then sank to his knees, and wept. _I will, great Crystal. I will…do anything._

The woman floated down to him and lifted his head. _Thank you. Watch over my shards, Telan, savior of our land. Wait for the ones who are meant to travel to our world._

Telan looked questionablyat her. _How will I know when they are here?_

The woman smiled at him one last time and then slowly began to fade. _You will know…when…the…time comes. Remember…your role is not over. _

The Crystal then faded from sight completely and Telan was faced with the complete darkness of the cave again. He was afraid again, alone in the darkness and with only his own body for company. He shuddered, and wished he had _something_ to keep him company.

One of the crystal shards blinked. Telan stared, puzzled, at it. He was astonished when it suddenly was full of light, illuminating part of the cave. This magic repeated itself, until all 22 shards were filled with light. Telan looked all around him, studying his surroundings. The entire cave was now lit, and he was no longer afraid. Telan found a comfortable spot in the bright room, and he settled down to wait. Moments later, he dozed off, comfortable and happy, basking in the light of the Crystal.

He dreamt first of the Crystal, who told him it would be all right, that when he woke the chosen would be there. He had accepted that, and the Crystal had faded into the mist. He waited for a moment, and then he was suddenly in front of a house in the countryside. _His _house in the countryside burned down so long ago, his family lost. However, as he approached, Telan could see his little sister through the window waiting for him. Telan smiled, as a tear rolled down his cheek, and began his long dream.

As Talen slept, the seasons turned in Wawanakwa, the weather changing from comfortable to scorching hot. The months past by, and the winds started to pick up, and the leaves fell off the trees. Steadily getting colder, snow started to fall and it blanketed the ground. Months later still, the weather turned back to fair, the snow disappeared and the wildlife reappeared, ready to get back to life. Men also came, placing cameras wherever they could find a logical place for them. Still, Talen slept, sheltered in the Crystal's light. Spring slowly crept by, and on the first day of summer, when the weather was warming up, Telan suddenly stirred and woke.

Telan slowly got up and reexamined the chamber, only to look around in awe. The 22 crystal shards, once all looking identical, were now all different colors. Red, blue, green, purple, black, grey…and different colors that Telan couldn't describe. Telan looked at the ceiling, and was astonished to find the ceiling he had once thought a bare wall was now covered with intricate designs and symbols. Tears pouring from his cheeks, he shouted to the heavens, _They're HERE! THEY'RE FINALLY HERE!_

Meanwhile, a young man about Telan's age walked down the dock to the island, followed closely by a giant man in an apron and 22 teenagers. At the end of the dock he turned around, spread his arms, smiled, and exclaimed, "Welcome to Camp Wawanakwa!"

**Second chapter is done. The cast of TDI will now take center stage, and they will officially start their quest soon! Probably. Anyway, I'm not sure how this chapter turned out, but I feel that it's...okay. I hope that it will sustain you until I get the next chapter out, which will be eventually, as school started again and finals are looming in the near future. Anyway, please review about what you thought about chapter 2, if you could, and thanks for taking time out of your day to read my story! Thanks!**


	3. They're Here and Now They're Gone

**Hey guys, ultimateTORINOR here. Here to say that the cast of TDI is finally in the story! I know it took 3 chapters. Sorry. Also, I'm sorry if this isn't that good. I'm REALLY stepping out of my comfort zone here. I hope I did at least an okay job portraying the them all to you. Which brings me to my next point. Review please! As I have said, reviews make me feel GOOD. They make me feel as if people are reading my story and enjoying it. So please review. Also, check out my profile and vote in the poll. It's an issue that has been bugging me for a while now. Thanks everyone. I do not own Total Drama Island in any way, and please enjoy the next chapter of...Shards of a Crystal!

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The man glanced around, but no response waited for him from the teenagers.

_Kids these days, _he thought.

He shook his head and said, "All right. Time to get the show on the road!"

_And to get all those ratings, _he thought laughing to himself.

He gestured to the giant man in the apron next to him. "This is Chef Hatchet. He will be cooking all of your meals while you…_enjoy_ your stay on the island."

The Goth girl muttered to herself, "Why do I not like the sound of that…?"

The man ignored her and pointed to himself. "I'm Chris Maclean, and your host for the show!" Chris smiled to show off his irritatingly perfect teeth. The teenagers grimaced.

_I can't even remember why I signed up for this show in the first place, _they all thought at the same moment.

Chris began walking up the rugged path, talking as he went. The teenagers had no choice but to follow, with Chef Hatchet at their backs. The sky above them was slowly getting darker, and it was getting harder and harder to see. A building then seemingly appeared out of nowhere just ahead of them. Chris suddenly stopped and turned around.

"When we get up to the mess hall, I'll leave you all for the night."

A girl carrying a bag full of dumb bells suddenly snarled, "I thought we got to stay in the CABINS!"

The punk with the green Mohawk supported her. "I don't like…surprises" he said, cracking his knuckles menacingly.

Chris backed up a step. "Well," he began, "that was the original plan, but they're…not quite ready yet." Some of the teens looked about ready to hurt Chris.

Before he could get attacked, he quickly added, "By the way, if you physically harm any of the crew here on the island, you forfeit your chance at the money." The teens slumped, defeated. Chris smiled, and congratulated himself. _Chris 1, Teens 0. Thank god for all that fine print on the contracts! _

Chuckling to himself, he led the way into the brightly lit mess hall, trailed by 22 unhappy campers and Chef. He let the campers set their stuff down, and then he began to talk once again.

"Campers," he said, "tomorrow is the first day on Total Drama Island! In the morning I'm going to divide you up into teams-

The blonde girl spoke up excitably. "Can we pick our teams, Chris?"

Chris frowned at her. "No. I JUST said that I was picking the teams." The blonde's excited smile turned into a frown, and she looked at the ground.

_God, _Chris thought cruelly, _we certainly didn't pick her for her brains._

He then continued, " You all will sleep here tonight. I'd take the time tonight to introduce yourselves, as you're the only people your age you'll see for the next 8 weeks!" He grinned again, and looked around at the unfortunate teens. None of the campers looked completely happy, to say the least. He smiled to himself. _No that's what I like to see_, he thought as he continued his torture.

"I'll be back in the morning for your first challenge. I hope none of you are afraid of heights!" Chris snickered as the brick house Jamaican nearly fainted, and turned and followed Chef Hatchet out, heading to his trailer. _Chris, _he thought to himself as he walked off into the night, _you are just too good looking for those people!

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Talen stared, mesmerized by the shapes on the ceiling. He tried to figure out all the symbols and what they meant, but suddenly the shapes and colors started to meld together. Talen, shocked, could only watch as the shapes and colors became one. Flashing and pulsating, they began to form the shape of a woman, someone who Talen thought he vaguely recognized…the woman formed completely, and Talen gasped in recognition as he knelt reverently to the being.

_Great Crystal, _he said, _they are here._

She floated down to him and smiled. _We know._

He looked at her questionably and asked, _What do we do next? Do we wait for them to come here? _

The Crystal shook her head. _No. They need to come here tonight. _

He nodded understandingly. _How do we get them here?_

She shook her head again. _Not WE, Talen, citizen of Nabudis. We are not able to leave this chamber. This person to bring the news must be you and you alone._

Talen shook slightly, duty pressing down on him suddenly. _Crystal…I-I'm not sure I c-can do this…_

The woman smiled brightly at him. _You place too little faith in yourself. Do not worry. Do not be afraid._ _They will listen to you Talen, citizen of Nabudis. They will listen to you Talen, savior of our people…_

The woman began to fade again. Talen stood up suddenly.

_Magnificent Crystal, don't go! …I don't even know where they are!_

The woman, now barely visible, stared him in the eyes. _You will know what to do. The fate of our world rests in the balance…but you are fully capable…_ The woman faded away, leaving Talen to ponder his predicament.

_I don't even know how to get out of this place, _he said bitterly. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, as if by magic a stairway formed, leading to a world Talen had never seen. As he floated up the stairway, he thought of his home. Would it be completely destroyed by this point? Talen thought about that; and he unconsciously floated faster up the steps until he was under the stars of the moonlit sky. He felt more tears cloud up his vision as he looked around the peaceful landscape. There was no moon tonight, but the sheer number of the stars made up for it, it was quite easy to see through the trees.

_This reminds me so much of the forest back home, _Talen thought sadly, _before it was…_

Visions of the fire came hurdling back to him, as if the invasion had happened yesterday. The smell of smoke seemed to fill his nostrils, and he could see his king getting stabbed in front of him…

Talen shook off the vision and thought miserably, _I…need to go with them…somehow…I need to…go home…_

Talen then took to the sky, floating above the trees that seemed to blanket the land. Peering in every direction, he suddenly spotted a small light in the darkness. Elated, he started to head in that direction, wondering what the Chosen Ones looked like.

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In the mess hall, the 22 unfortunate Chosen were currently sitting together, but no one had spoken yet. Finally, someone broke the very lengthy and awkward silence. Looking around at everyone, a brown haired girl spoke up, "This is ridiculous! We are going to be just about the only people we see for 8 weeks, and we can't even have simple conversations!" She sighed, as no one had responded to her outburst. She nevertheless continued her tirade, "Look, let's just introduce ourselves for now. …I'm Courtney. I used to be a CIT and I have great leadership qualities." She looked around at the others. "Who's next?"

A boy wearing a cowboy hat and a pink shirt suddenly spoke up. "Hey guys, I'm Geoff and I'm here to PARTY! WOO HOO!" His enthusiasm started a chain reaction around the teens. An extremely overweight boy shouted that his name was Owen and that it was "AWESOME to be here!" while a bookworm just said, "My name's Noah." and calmly turned the page of his book. The rest of them couldn't help adding in. There was Eva, the girl who had all the dumb bells; Duncan was the punk with the green Mohawk; Gwen was the Goth girl, while Trent was the one playing a song from memory on his guitar. DJ was the brick house that had nearly fainted when Chris mentioned heights. Bridgette, who had brought a surfboard to the island, and Ezekiel, who never seemed to part with his toque, were currently attending him. Justin, a male model, simply let his actions do the talking for him, flipping his hair back and sending all of the girls into a swoon. Beth, the only girl with glasses, and Lindsay, the blonde whom Chris insulted earlier, had nearly almost fainted. Katie and Sadie, two best friends who were inseparable were close to that same state, eyes locked on Justin. Izzy, a redhead who had a crazy gleam in her eyes, promptly left the room for a few minutes. She came back with a tray of food, proudly announcing that the lock on the refrigerator was "Tricky, but she got him in the end." Tyler, an athlete wearing a red tracksuit, said his name and then sank back into the background. Cody, only guy with buckteeth, tried immediately to start a conversation with one of the ladies, but Harold, the only guy with classes and red hair, beat him to Leshawna, a sister who said she spent had spent her entire life previously in "the Projects". A raven-haired girl wearing clothes that left little to the imagination walked up to Cody.

"Hey Cody, I'm Heather."

Cody smiled. Confident he wouldn't make a fool of himself again, he replied, "Hey Heather, I'm Cody. Thanks for talking to me."

Heather smiled at him. "No problem. I just came over here to introduce myself to another loser on this island." She walked away, leaving Cody standing there.

Leshawna glared at the back of the rich girl. "Someone needs to get her out of here. I can't stand people who walk all over others! If I catch her doing it again I'll-"

Leshawna never finished the threat because the lights suddenly went out and the door to the mess hall slowly opened. Slowly, all 22 of them turned to look at the doorway to see who was there.

A young man in his middle twenties walked, or rather _floated_ over to them. The apparition slowly floated in a circle to get a glance at everyone. He started to talk, more to himself than to them. _They are the Chosen? But…they are only children; probably no more than sixteen or so…is this right?_

Duncan glared at the floating man. "Very funny, Chris. You know we're all eighteen here. I also believe you know that I don't like surprises…" The punk slowly got up and started advancing towards the man.

The young man backed up slowly. _Chris? My name isn't Chris. It's Talen, and you all must come with me. The fate of my world rests in your hands alone. Please…I'm begging you, please help!_

Duncan stared at him, confusion furrowed on his brow. Geoff, serious for once, asked, "What do we have to do, dude?

Talen smiled at all of them. _You'll all have to come with me into the forest to see something. I'll tell you the rest when we get there, I promise. _He started to float back through the door, and then stopped as if waiting for them. Geoff looked around at the others. "Good enough for me, dudes! Let's go save the world!" He walked towards the strange floating man, with almost all the others following him, with varying degrees of doubt etched on their faces.

Courtney whispered to herself, "This is not SAFE. Who knows what could be out there at this time? They need someone who can handle themselves in a critical situation, like myself." She walked over to the others and slowly, Duncan shrugged and joined the others and they set off into the night.

Traveling through the trees, the large group stayed together, obediently following their unearthly guide. He had an unfair advantage over them, as he could just float over any obstacle, while the teens had to carefully watch their feet. After about 20 minutes of walking, Talen slowed and stopped, hovering over what seemed to be a random hole in the ground. He turned to face the campers and told them, _here is the place. Follow me down the stairs, and I will show you the crystal chamber._

The group shrugged and descended, all of them thinking they would find out soon what their strange floating "friend" called the crystal chamber. They did not have long to wait, as they only had to go down about 50 steps before reaching level ground again. Spreading out across the large room, they tried looking around, but the darkness here was impenetrable.

Harold asked Talen, "Do you have any skills that might light this room up."

Talen didn't answer him, but instead dropped to one knee, and said, _Crystal…I have brought them. The Chosen are here._

The 22 campers barely had enough time to cover their eyes to avoid being blinded when the entire room was suddenly filled with light. When the light had dissipated enough to safely open them again, they were amazed at what the room held. Brightly lit shards of some kind were embedded in the walls, each were it's own different color.

_Welcome…Chosen Ones. We are sorry to have interrupted your time on this island, but our need was paramount. The land in our world calls you. It has been suffering, and you are the ones that hold the power to stop it. If you do not do this, we will not blame you, but our land will fall further into despair until it engulfs it completely. _The teens glanced at one another, taken aback by this information. The voice spoke again, its words burning into the minds of the campers. _Examine the shards in the wall. If you look at all of them, you will each find that a particular shard interests you. That shard is the key to our land, and we will be eternally grateful if you grasp it in your hand. We will speak with you in a few moments, please find your chosen shard._

The voice trailed off, and the campers glanced at one another uneasily. They all glanced back towards the stairs; the stairs that would take them back to that horrible show. Back to Chris Maclean. That thought alone was enough for them to tear their eyes away from the steps and began to search for their shard.

It didn't take long until many campers found their shards. Some, like Noah, instantly glanced around and walked over to their shards. Others, like Owen, were walking past when their feet just suddenly stopped, and they turned to behold their own shard. They did not take another step. Soon, only Justin and Leshawna were left. Leshawna, as if in a trance, slowly walked over to stand in front a shard that gave off a light purple light, and almost seemed to crackle with energy. The male model glanced toward the last shard, _his_ shard. As he approached, he saw it gave off a pitch-black color. When he stood next to it. As he waited, a voice appeared in his head. _I can make you the King of men. With my power, you can have anything you could have ever wanted. You could have that new world for yourself, Justin! All for yourself…_

The voice trailed off and Justin shuddered inwardly. A power that could give him an entire world…he wasn't sure what he thought of that.

_ You all have decided your shards, although it is really the shards that picks you. All of you will travel to our world. We will warn you now; you will be separated. You will probably meet up with some of the others, but this might be the last time you see some of them for a while…_

The campers slowly turned and looked at one another, remembering the other faces in their minds. The crystal spoke again.

_ We thank all of you. That you will go to try to save our world, with no preparation, is admirable. Use that courage to get through the days ahead. Now…Good-Bye, Chosen Ones. Have a safe journey. Perhaps one thing we should tell you is that there are not only humans in our world. _

DJ cried out, "Who else is there?"

The voice immediately responded. _Do not be afraid. Good luck…Chosen Ones…_

The campers had time for one final glance, for one more goodbye, before a light suddenly shone bright. The room started to shake, and more than one person cried out. The room slowly became normal, and the light faded. Talen looked around, but could not find one of them anywhere. He glanced skyward as the Crystal spoke,

_ They are heading to our world at this moment. They will face many trials, but they will overcome them. They WILL save or world, and balance will be restored._

Talen replied, _Will they all make it back to their world? Will they all succeed? None of them will...die, will they?  
_

The Crystal said nothing.

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**All right, Third Chapter down. The campers are finally going to the new world. I tried to make this longer to make up for the shortness of the last one. Please guys, review and vote in my poll. It's important to me. On a side note, I don't know when I'll have the next chapter up. It's gonna be random, I guess. Thanks to all of you who have reviewed and those will continue to review you guys are awesome! See you guys later, and thanks for taking a few minutes of your time to read my story!**


	4. The Stragglers

**Hey everyone, ultimateTORINOR here. Here to say that I don't own Total Drama Island. And also to say that the chapter 4 of Shards of a Crystal is here! Unfortunately, this chapter will not take place in the new world (which I still have to make up a name for, ideas would be appreciated). This chapter is set at Camp Wawanakwa again, but don't worry, its going to be the last one for a while that does. Also, guys, thanks for all the reviews, I'm officially in the double digits! I'm feeling really good at the moment, but truth be told, I'd like more. So if you could please read, review, and check my poll on my profile, as I still have yet to decide how to split the campers up. With all that out of the way, please enjoy the latest addition of...Shards of a Crystal!!!

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Chris Maclean walked over slowly to the mess hall, a wicked gleam in his eye. In his mind's eye, he went over what the day would hold. First, the campers would be split into teams that HE had chosen, and he took great pleasure in making sure NONE of them were happy. The campers would participate in their first challenge, which was going to be very FUN. Not for them, of course, but for the viewing world. Seeing their faces before they jumped off that 1000-foot cliff…priceless! After the challenge, one of the losing team's members would be eliminated. Chris made a bet with himself: the weird boy with the weird hat would be the first to go. But first things first…waking the campers up at five in the morning, if only to have them spend hours worrying about the challenge first. Chris chuckled silently to himself Now THAT was his form of entertainment. As he pictured them jumping up in alarm in his mind, he got out his trusty blow horn and crept into the mess hall. He walked in, and for the first time in his life Chris was speechless. The campers who were supposed to be sleeping were actually nowhere in sight. After a quick scan of the room, Chris took out his walkie-talkie and shouted, "CHEF! MISSING CAMPERS! IT'S PART OF YOUR JOB TO GO AND FIND THEM!"

Chef thundered back a moment later. "Chris, I DON'T REALLY CARE WHERE THEY ARE, LET ME GO BACK TO SLEEP!

Chris thought for a moment, and then had an idea. "Chef, if you find those campers, I'll give you that paycheck I owe you."

Chris smiled to himself when Chef instantly responded, "Fine. I'll start in the woods. Where will you go?"

Chris made it back to his trailer where he got back into bed. No use staying up when no one was here. He told Chef, "I'll check around camp. Meet me at the mess hall in…four hours."

Chef didn't reply. Chris smiled again at how he had tricked the man into finding his tickets to fame and fortune. That paycheck was one thing Chef was never going to see. A little trip Chris had made to a resort hotel and spa had made sure of that. Chris turned on his side, and in five minutes he was fast asleep.

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Chef Hatchet stumbled through the thick woods, his big frame struggling to fit through the gaps between the trees at times. All the while, he was cursing his luck. That he had been stupid enough to join this show at all. Money was the only reason he had done it in the first place, and he hadn't seen a cent in three weeks! He threatened to quit his job, but Chris had laughed and said he already signed his contract. He suddenly punched a tree in frustration, and was even more furious when the tree didn't even move, but instead caused his hand to throb in pain. Chef, to get his mind off the pain, suddenly thought of beating Chris up. He smiled. The "pretty boy" talked tough, but he was a coward and a weakling at heart, hiding behind other people and his paperwork. Chef walked on, so wrapped up in his daydream he wasn't looking at the ground. Chef placed one foot in front of the other, only to find that there was no ground to stand on.

Chef tried too late to stop himself as his forward momentum causing him to fall into space. Chef had a moment to realize that he was falling down _stairs_ in the middle of a _forest_ before his head connected with something hard and he blacked out.

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Talen had been about to ask something to the Crystal before he heard a noise coming down the stairs. He listened closely, and thought it was if someone was falling down stairs. but that couldn't be it-

He was interrupted in his thinking as a huge black man in an apron tumbled down off the last stair and fell to his feet. When he didn't move, Talen was alarmed, but the Crystal's voice soothed him.

_Do not worry he is only unconscious. We knew his coming. _

Talen confused, asked, _Who is he? Why is he here?_

The Crystal answered after a minute of silence. _He is the Guardian of the Chosen Ones. He is meant to guard the Chosen Ones, to keep them alive. To save them when they are in trouble. _

Talen was puzzled. _A Guardian? How is he going to protect all of them? They could be anywhere! He doesn't know where anything is in our world! _

The Crystal waited until Talen was done. _We know this. This is why We told you that your role was not yet over._

Talen stared up at the ceiling. _I'm supposed to go with him?_

The Crystal's voice floated down to him. _Not with him, Talen of Nabudis. You must travel inside his body, to be his guidance only, to show him the way when he parts from it. _

Talen, stunned, looked to the unconscious man. _I have to go inside his body? How am I supposed to do this?_

The Crystal told him. _Just float over to him and try to pass through him. It will happen, and you will be a part of the Guardian. _

Talen was unconvinced, but he decided to go through with it anyway. Floating cautiously next to Chef, he suddenly floated straight forward. Going straight into Chef's inert body, he expected to shoot past through his body and hit the wall, and he was astonished to realize he was stuck.

Talen heard the Crystal's voice again. _It is done. You have bonded with the Guardian, to become his direction, to help him when he is lost. You have bonded to help him succeed in his mission to protect the Chosen. To this you have sworn; will you uphold your promise, Talen, citizen of Nabudis?_

Talen answered hesitantly, unnerved by the Crystal's declaration. _…I will._

The Crystal was silent for a moment more. _You will leave in a moment. This will drain the last vestiges of my power in this chamber. You will not hear from me again for some time. Remember to talk to the Guardian when he wakes, as he will be confused. He might refuse to help you for a time, but you must not get discouraged. He will see…in time. Good luck…Guardian and Talen, saviors of our people… _

Talen saw the light begin to build up. He asked desperately, hoping for an answer. _Great Crystal, there are 22 Chosen. How can we possibly hope to guard them all?_

The Crystal didn't answer at once, and Talen thought it wouldn't at all. But as the light flared bright and he felt Chef and himself lift away from the chamber, he thought he heard a voice in his mind.

_ You will not be able to save all of them. They will understand their destinies, as you have come to understand yours. Talen, citizen of Nabudis, they will all understand. _

_For some of them…it will be the last thing they ever do…

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**So that's that. The final people going to the new world are traveling there now, and next chapter will DEFINITELY be in the new world. But, I need some time to think out this next chapter, as there is nothing to help me base it on. Although I have a general idea who'll be in it, I don't know _what's_ going to be in it at the moment. So, the next chapter might take me a little bit to write, but never fear, I will get it done. Although, I might get it done faster if a lot of people sent me feedback. I thought this chapter went all right...but its not this chapter I'm concerned about. It's the chapters to come that are important, and I NEED a lot of people to check out my poll, as I can't seem to make a decision, so I'll have you all do it for me. You don't have to, but I'd greatly appreciate it. Anyway, thanks guys, you all reading this means a lot to me, and thanks once more for taking a few minutes out of your lives to read my story!**


	5. The Start of a New Adventure

**Hey everyone, ultimateTORINOR is back! I'm really really sorry, but life really overwhelmed me. Work, school, everything just got to me. However, I think the rough part is out of my life for the moment, so I shouldn't take as long again to update. On to details of the story. I have decided, partly because of the poll, to do groups of two campers. That might change as the story progresses, but for now it's groups of two. Please have mercy on me if this isn't up to snuff. As I've said, lots of stuff was going on. I don't own Total Drama Island, and without further ado, please enjoy the next addition of Shards of a Crystal!

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Day 1: Forest

_Bridgette…wake up…you must wake up…_

Bridgette stirred from sleep, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. Looking around, she found herself lying in the middle of a forest.

_I'm still on Wawanakwa,_ she thought, _It was a dream…_

She sighed. She had wanted to go on an adventure since as long as she could remember…

She slowly got up and scanned her surroundings, hoping to find something that would point her in the right direction.

_The others will probably laugh at me,_ she thought to herself ruefully.

Choosing a direction, she began to walk through the thick forest. Looking at the trees to either side of her, she was astonished at the scenery around her. She hadn't noticed before that the trees had an almost…inhuman beauty about them. It must have rained sometime during the night, as water dripped from the uncountable leaves. But why wasn't she wet? The ground wasn't wet either, and it was almost as if…

_The water evaporates before it hits the ground…_she thought,_ but…that's…not possible…_

This went against every law of…ANYTHING she could think of. Bridgette felt uneasiness creep up inside of her, and she shook it off angrily.

_You're overreacting, Bridge, _she thought furiously to herself,_ just calm down…keep walking._

Walking again in the direction she picked, Bridgette tried to keep her eyes in front of her, but she couldn't shake off the sight of the forest around her.

_We don't have forests like this in Canada_, she thought wistfully.

Looking up, Bridgette was surprised to find out that she could only barely make out the top branches of the trees around her. It wasn't the height that concerned her, though. The surfer girl literally stopped in her tracks after getting her first good look at the leaves covering every branch in the forest. They were almost every color imaginable: red, blue, yellow, green, purple, and orange… Bridgette stopped next to one of the blue leaved trees. Blue had always been her favorite color. It was such a calming color, and it had seemed to surround the surfer girl's life. Back home, she had always been in the water, most times to surf, but other times just to stare at the sky, and contemplate life. She had been able to get past a lot of her personal problems. Deciding that it wouldn't hurt, Bridgette looked to the sky again, trying to lose herself in its vibrant blue and beautiful clouds. She felt herself travel to a different place, where her family was together again and happy. Seeing their faces, she felt her herself calm instinctively, but was startled out of her reverie by screams coming steadily towards her. Looking around wildly, she was horrified to see a boy falling towards the ground at a very high speed.

Desperately running over to where he would land, she cringed as he hit a very sturdy branch close to the ground, abruptly stopping his momentum. Bridgette watched, stunned, as the now motionless form slid off the branch and fell to lie facedown on the forest floor.

Bridgette walked slowly over to the inert body, hoping against hope that the he wasn't dead. Bridgette turned him over, and was amazed to find he was still breathing. After trying unsuccessfully to lift him, she decided to watch him and wait for the mysterious teen to wake up. She studied his clothes. He wore baggy jeans and a gray-green sweatshirt. He also wore a blue toque, which triggered something in Bridgette. Thinking back, she remembered her short time on Wawanakwa, remembered caring for DJ with another teen.

_Ezekiel! That was his name…he also wore a toque…_she thought to herself.

Watching him for a few moments more, she sat down next to him and began to wonder what they were going to do. They were going to need a fire for when it got dark, that was certain. Who knew what crawled the forest at night…

Bridgette suddenly looked at Ezekiel, who was now beginning to groan and open his eyes. Blinking his eyes a few times, he adjusted his eyes to the unfamiliar surroundings around him. He started when he saw Bridgette, and started immediately to sit up.

Bridgette said, "That was a pretty hard fall you took, Ezekiel. I…thought you…"

She couldn't seem to utter the phrase.

Ezekiel groaned again. "I feel like I got run over by a truck, eh."

Bridgette, genuinely puzzled, asked him, "What were you doing in the first placer to make yourself fall?"

Ezekiel looked at Bridgette. "I heard a voice in my head, eh. It told me I had to wake up. I did, and I found myself hundreds of feet in the air, sitting on a branch of a tree. I…panicked, and I fell, eh."

Bridgette stared back at the prairie boy. "That's exactly what I heard too."

Ezekiel didn't answer, and an uncomfortable silence lingered between the two teens. Ezekiel suddenly stood up. "We should probably look for some wood, Bridgette."

Bridgette looked at him, confused. "How did you know my name? I don't think I ever told you."

Ezekiel smiled a little, and told her, "You were basically the only one I…talked too, back at that horrible camp, eh. I heard you say it to the others."

He held out her hand to help her up. She smiled at him as she took it. He helped her up, and they began to walk around the forest gathering up an abundance of wood in the process. Picking a good spot, they set some wood down. Ezekiel tried unsuccessfully to get the fire going, and Bridgette realized he had no idea how to light it. She then took over, but she showed him how to start it as well. Ezekiel looked absolutely mortified for some reason, but she thought he had been glad to learn how anyway.

The sky grew darker and darker, and soon the two were glad that they had gotten the fire lit. Night in this particular forest was pitch-black, and the only light and warmth that reached Ezekiel and Bridgette was from their own fire. They huddled around it, trying to stay warm despite the dropping temperature.

Ezekiel's teeth chattered. "I d-d-didn't k-know it could g-get this c-c-cold, eh."

Bridgette, trying to get her mind of that fact, said, "It's not natural. This w-world is very d-different from ours, that's for s-sure."

Ezekiel stared into the flames. "Why are we even here? Bridgette, we a-a-all just c-charged i-in. Where i-is e-e-everyone? What a-are we s-supposed t-to be d-d-doing?

Bridgette looked at Ezekiel. "I'm not sure. I guess we have t-to save this world, or something."

Ezekiel said nothing, looking as if he were in his own little world. Bridgette suddenly heard some more rustling about twenty yards away. Turning around suddenly, she saw a massive beast's outline, coming steadily closer to them. She backed up slowly, and looked at Ezekiel.

He was still staring into the flames.

Bridgette screamed, "EZEKIEL! MOVE!"

The beast stepped close to the fire's glow, and Bridgette could see huge fangs and claws. She didn't want to die, not with so much riding on them. The beast roared, long and terrifyingly; Bridgette stepped back, Ezekiel still sat. The beast started to charge. Bridgette closed her eyes and waited for the end.

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**How was the end? I personally thought it was all right. Now, I am going to skip around on different character's stories, so you might have to wait for a few chapters to find out what happens to them. Regardless, I hope you liked it. Please remember to READ AND REVIEW! and thanks for taking moments out of your day to read my story!**


	6. There is Evil Afoot

**Hey everyone, ultimateTORINOR here. Saying that this chapter would have been out a bit earlier, but my computer really sucks at the moment. Anyway, this chapter focuses on the bad guys of the story, what our 22 heroes will be facing on their different quests. I'm sorry if this chapter isn't great, but I really really hope you don't hate it. Now that I've got that out of the way, I still don't own Total Drama Island. And now, with no further interruptions by me...please enjoy the latest chapter of Shards of a Crystal!

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Nabudis City Tavern

Heric Graun watched the man across from him carefully, waiting for an answer. The man in question was a miner, a common man, driven to him with thoughts of a rich reward for his story. He didn't know this particular man's name. He didn't care either. All that mattered was that he gave the correct response. He smiled to himself. No matter the outcome, this man was a threat to his liege. He would need to be…taken care of. He leaned back in his chair. The man was hesitating. It would have to be time for some tact. It was a…delicate situation.  
He smiled warmly at the miner and said comfortingly to him, "Come now, friend. We are on the same side here. Tell me your story, and if it pleases my liege enough, you could say good-bye to hard work forever. We would take care of all your needs."  
He smiled as the man's eyes lit up. They are all the same, he thought triumphantly.  
The man, fueled by greed, recounted his tale to Gran. "Well, sir, I was working in the mines, you see, as I be only a miner, not a fine lord as yourself." The man searched his eyes, hoping that his flattery had gained him some favor, but could find nothing there. He continued, "I had just finished bringing a load of iron ore up the mine shaft when I felt …something… behind me. I turned around and there's this great flash of light from inside the mine. It…blinded me, my lord. When I eventually got my vision back, I noticed the sky was…different."  
Heric Graun cut in. "Different in what way?" he inquired, feigning interest.  
The man, puzzled, added, "Well, when I looked up at that night sky, I just felt a wave of calm pass over me. Like, everything was going to be all right. Does that make sense, my lord? Is that what you are looking for?"  
Heric Graun smiled at the miner, his mind, however, was in turmoil. This was a very troubling matter. There could only be one object that possessed that blessed power. He had heard reports from his men of similar instances, but had dismissed them almost immediately. The Crystal was gone forever, it had seemed, and Heric Graun had everything he had ever wanted.  
But that accursed Crystal! It seemed it would not abandon the world just yet. He needed to report this directly to his master, who would…not be pleased. But it was time for a little pleasure first.  
Just a little longer…he thought.  
Heric Graun stood up from his chair, motioning for the unfortunate man to follow suit.  
"Well, I believe we can work something out. This news will be extremely helpful to my lord."  
The man's head nodded repeatedly. "Oh yes, thank you sir, you don't know how much this means to me…"  
Heric drew his hand to one of his back pockets, fingering an object he had not used in a very long time.  
He motioned his informant to come up to him. "My fine friend, it is time to discuss your reward…"  
The man walked over to him, a smile spreading over his rugged features. He got to him and paused waiting.  
"Yes, my lord? What did you have in mind?"  
Heric Graun got a steady grip on his tool. Here, he paused, savoring the moment, knowing that the man was his. Suddenly whipping his hand out of his coat, he plunged the dagger-like instrument into the miner's chest. He smiled as the man's eyes opened wide in pain and shock; smiled as he felt the man's life slowly leave his ragged and worn body.  
He smiled cruelly at his victim. "I see you are enjoying my weapon. Let me explain it to you. I hope you… will not object."  
The miner said nothing, struggling feebly, gasping in pain.  
Graun smiled again. "Good. You see, my weapon-" He pressed on the weapon slightly, causing the man to shut his eyes tightly. "This weapon is a marvelous invention, courtesy of our King himself. With this…I can make Death itself my tool."  
He spoke rapturously to the dying man. "Quick or slow…painless or complete torture. This is one of a kind…this is...." He twisted his weapon swiftly, causing the man to drop instantly to the ground. He retrieved his weapon, and checked the body. Dead. As always, his weapon succeeded again. It truly was a gift. It truly was…Magic. He turned around and strode to the door. Opening it swiftly, he motioned to the guard standing by his door. Heric Graun glanced at the body, and the guard went swiftly, taking the man's body in his arms, cleaning up his mess.  
Heric Graun did not look back at his handiwork, did not know any of their names. Names were an irksome thing, opened doorways for people, making you get to know them, and then…you would not be able to get the job done.  
The murderer shook his head, glanced at his clothing for any traces of blood, and finding them to his satisfaction, quickly walked through the tavern's interior and out the door, into the night.  
Heric Graun paused, looking around at his surroundings. So much had changed in the one year they had occupied the "fair" city of Nabudis! Gone were the bright colors, the smiling people, and the laughing children. They were now distant memories, ancient history…their time was over. Dark clouds hung eternally over the city, obscuring the sunlight, casting a sickly aura around the town. Heric smiled to himself. The sight of it, the struggling and ailing town, had always made him smile. Looking once to the sky, and nodding in satisfaction, he turned on his heel and disappeared, leaving the town to suffer in its desolation alone.  
Appearing suddenly on the roof of the castle, he felt...strange, like he was being watched by an unknown force. Looking around hurriedly, he saw the sight that had made him feel so uneasy. The temple stood there, a seemingly bright beacon in the middle of the darkness that they had brought to Nabudis. Heric Graun hesitated no longer and pushed open the doors that lead into the castle throne room. That temple was eerie, to say the least. He had been there when the explosion happened, fighting at the temple stairs, one year before, and he had been fortunate enough to see the old King get struck down, and remembered smiling…that the day was theirs! Right after the last enemy soldier had been dispatched, a light had then rippled through everyone present. The middle of the room then exploded in light, nearly blinding them all. The sheer force of it caused it to draw people in, the soldiers who had dispatched the king went first, not even having enough time to scream. The rest were pulled in, trying in vain to escape their fate. Heric himself had survived by hanging on to a torch bracket for dear life, watching as man after man was pulled into the light vortex. He remembered slipping form his hold, heading closer and closer to the light. He had cried out, feeling a part of him slip into the light…when suddenly the light faded, and the room was at least silent. He had then collapsed, and was treated by the healers when they had found them in the temple. After he had been treated, he realized that something wasn't quite normal about him anymore. He could simply wish he were someplace, and he would be there…instantly. It had been such a valuable skill, one that his master and he had used to its full potential over the last year…  
Heric Graun shook his head again, shaking off his memories, and entered the throne room. If he had looked around, he would have seen craftsmanship at its finest, but only one thing held his attention at this point.  
He knelt reverently, waiting for his King to acknowledge him.  
"Rise, Heric Graun, my second in command. What have you found out from that man you went to visit, hmm?"  
Heric rose, shaking off his surprise quickly, and answered, "I found out one thing in particular, Sire, and…I…"  
The King glared at him. "Spit it out, man! What could he possibly have said to threaten me? This city is mine!" He strode angrily over to Heric and looked him in the eye.  
Heric picked his words carefully and said, "The Crystal has appeared, in many places around the globe. I've heard reports of strange flashes of light in Elven forests, Dwarven underground, Human cities, and more are yet to be discovered. We even have pieces close to home, in the Mulka Mine."  
His King turned away. "I thought this day would come. We…must do all we can to retrieve the pieces of it. Send attack parties out to the locations, and alert our armies to start preparing."  
Heric Graun grinned. "Can I head the attack party to the mine, Sire?"  
The King turned and smiled, but with no warmth in his eyes. "Do what you have to, Graun, but do NOT fail me."  
Heric bowed low. "Thank you, my liege. Thank you, King Lucien!"  
He strode out, toying with his special weapon, with Lucien's last words echoing in his ears.  
"No witnesses. No survivors."  
That was always the best way to do a mission.

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**How did you guys like it? I hoped at least a few of you didn't like my character's actions. They're meant to act that way, after all. If any of you are wondering, Heric Graun is NOT a mage. Just thought I'd clear that up for a few people who might be a little confused. Again, I'm sorry if this wasn't very interesting or good, but I would really REALLY appreciate it if people still reviewed anyway. They make me feel happy and nice. Anyway, I don't know yet what Chapter 7 will be about yet, but I'll try to get as much done as I can in the next few days. Thanks so much for taking a few moments out of your lives to read my story! READ AND REVIEW!**


	7. Meeting in the Unlikeliest of Places

**Hey everybody, it's me, ultimateTORINOR, here to say I'm sorry for the long wait. I didn't really feel like writing for a stretch here, but I hope you'll forgive me. I was having a little trouble deciding who to write about, and I...admittedly...struggled a bit. Once I finally decided who to write about, this chapter came about. I'm pretty happy with it, too. The events in this chapter occur at the same time as the events in Chapter 5, in case anyone is confused. I don't own Total Drama Island, but I definitely own this story idea. And so, without further delay, please enjoy the next chapter of...Shards of a Crystal!

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Day 1: The Navarros

_Tyler…you must wake up…you…must…_

Tyler started awake. Blinking a few times, he sat up…only to hit his head hard on the bunk above. Seeing stars, he tried to get up, only to trip on something and fall to the ground. Tyler lay there for a second, and slowly got up, taking care to not overbalance and fall over again. Suddenly realizing he had no idea where he was, he looked around, hoping against hope that something here would give him a clue. Besides his bunk bed, there was a desk, a lamp, and a chair, none of them giving the slightest clue of why he was there. Sighing, Tyler shook off defeat, as it happened way too often for him to just give in to it. Walking over to the door he noticed, he tentatively opened it.

Stepping out, Tyler squinted into the harsh sunlight, and waited for his eyes to adjust. When he did, he was astonished at what he saw.

He was apparently on some sort of ship, as men were everywhere, loosening sails, climbing up masts, and some were goofing off, laughing and talking in groups of two's and three's.

Tyler stood there, thunderstruck.

_How on earth did I end up here…on this ship? What the hell happened?_

The jock was so deep in thought that he didn't hear the shouted warning.

"Look out!"

His head exploded with pain, and Tyler dropped to the floor of the deck. Eyes clenched shut and fighting to stay conscious, the jock, with a supreme effort, raised his head and opened his eyes, to find himself surrounded by the _entire_ crew. Tyler looked at the unfamiliar faces, and they stared back at him.

One man broke the silence. "One of you layabouts helps the young man up _now_!"

The two men nearest to Tyler instantly picked him up by the arms and literally dragged him back through the door the unlucky jock had exited moments before. The two men set Tyler on the bed, and hastily retreated. The man who had spoken earlier walked to the doorway. Turning to face the others, he told them, "Keep everything under control while I deal with _him_."

The crew instantly turned back to their tasks; this man had influence over the rest of them. Turning towards Tyler, the crew's leader shut the door behind him.

While this was all going on, Tyler held his head in his hands, trying not to concentrate on the pain. When he succeeded on forcing the pain to the back of his mind, he finally looked up.

The man who had taken charge earlier looked at him with what looked like to the jock as genuine concern. Slowly, the man approached.

"Are you all right?"

Tyler nodded. "Yeah, it just took me by surprise.

The man laughed. "I was looking at you. You probably didn't have the faintest clue where you were at that moment, right?"

Tyler nodded.

The man looked away for a moment. "I know you have questions, so I'll save you some time by just telling you what I know. Sounds good?"

Tyler nodded again.

The man looked at Tyler quizzically. "You really don't talk too much…Anyway, my name is Zane Galfanan. I am captain of the Navarros, and she is the fastest in the sea."

Tyler didn't interrupt so he continued, a dreamy look in his dark eyes. "She might just be a merchant ship, but she's faster than any of those warships that the Empire mass-produces. Not only that, but she has never let my men or me down once."

Tyler, a little impatient, decided to interrupt. "Why am I here? I don't remember getting on any ship…"

Zane chuckled. "Well, you wouldn't, lad. We were sailing along, just minding our own business, when we see _you_ floating along in the water. We fished you out, but nothing we did would wake you. So, we just decided to let you take this spare cabin, until we could figure out what to do with you."

Tyler, still confused as ever, asked, "So, I was just floating there? Alone?"

Zane looked him in the eye. "That you were, but do you know what the strange thing was?"

Tyler shook his head, and the captain continued. "You were just floating there, with what you've got. Nothing was helping you keep afloat, and it must have been the grace of the Crystal that you stayed alive at all." Zane paused for a moment, then asked, "What's your name, lad? You're my cargo for now, and I need to know how to address you."

The jock responded, "It's Tyler."

The captain laughed again. "Well now, Tyler, do you remember anything that might help us help you? Do you have any friends that we might know? Better yet, do you have any training with a blade? I won't have any passenger of mine go unarmed in the dangerous world of today."

Tyler paused for a moment. "I remember…others…with me yesterday. But if I were a total stranger to you, you probably wouldn't know any of them. I'm also completely hopeless with any weapon."

Zane Galfanan stroked his chin, deep in thought. "Well, since you don't have anything better to do, how about allowing us to take you to our destination? You might find one of your friends there."

Tyler nodded. "Sure, where are we going?"

The captain smiled. "The place of dreams, Tyler. We deliver food to the royal palace of the Deodarian Empire itself, and get well paid for it."

Tyler nodded and put his hands in his pockets. Suddenly, he felt like he was missing something, something very important. His eyes roamed the room, desperately searching for it.

Zane looked at him in alarm. "Tyler, what's the matter? Calm down. It's all right!"

Tyler shook his head, and glumly looked at the floor. "No…I must have lost it…"

The captain looked at the distressed teen. "What have you lost, my boy?"

Tyler looked at the captain. "Something very important to me. I think it was…some kind of shard"

Zane suddenly smiled brightly. "Tyler, was that all you were worried about?"

He suddenly reached into his vest pocket and pulled out an object. "When we pulled you up from the water, you had this clenched in your fist. I'm sorry I worried you, lad. I just wanted to make sure that you didn't lose it accidentally." He dropped the object in Tyler's hand. "She's yours again." Zane stood up and walked over to the door. He opened it, and he looked back once at the jock. "We'll be there in a few hours. Just come out to the deck when you feel like it." He then took his leave, closing the door gently behind him.

Tyler watched the closed door fondly for a moment, and then looked to the object in his hand. It was indeed a shard, and a sense of rightness filled him. It was gray, with…something…swirling around in it. Tyler tried to catch a glimpse of what was inside, but it always seemed to disappear before the teen could get a good look at it. Tyler studied it for a few moments, and then froze when he heard a voice in his head.

_Tyler…you will never be on the front lines…but yours is a vital role…please…use your power…to save the…lives of everyone…_

Tyler looked stunned for a moment, but then he was filled with a confidence he had never known before.

_Your destiny…ties…with another…you…must make it to the…Empire…_

Tyler nodded, but struck by a sudden thought, asked the voice in his head, "What's so bad about this world? The people seem nice. They accepted me, no questions asked!"

The jock waited patiently, as the voice answered him after a moment.

_I…cannot…describe it…but…I can…show you…if you wish…_

Tyler paused a split second, and then nodded.

_He looked over the world, which was peaceful and calm in its entirety. Tyler sighed, and he had never felt so content. Suddenly, something changed. A cloud of darkness, brought on by the death and destruction of war spread across a part of the world. One city fell, and another, and another, until an entire kingdom, it seemed to Tyler, was besieged by darkness. Slowly, the cloud spread, overtaking every living thing. Nothing was saved. Tyler could only watch, hopeless, as the entire world was devoured by darkness. Tyler could not even cover his ears to silence the screams and moans of death as people everywhere were killed…or worse. The jock saw the darkness coming for him, as well, but he could not move. Tyler opened his mouth to scream, but darkness filled his mouth, his air, everything. His world became darkness…_

Tyler opened his eyes, and felt tears come to his brown eyes.

"I…will help…in any way possible. I will not…allow that to happen…"

_Thank you…Tyler…please…go up to the deck…now…and see the first sight of your new world…_

Tyler tucked his shard into his pocket, and strode out onto the deck, but not before accidentally hitting his head against the door.

He spotted Captain Zane Galfanan, who was overseeing his crew unload his precious cargo. Tyler stopped for a moment, only to realize that they were apparently already in port. The jock walked over to the captain, who turned to him as he approached.

"I thought you were never going to wake up. Tyler, welcome to Ridorana, the capital of the Deodarian Empire."

Tyler looked, puzzled, at the captain. "Wake up? I never fell asleep."

Zane laughed heartily. "Believe what you will, lad, you were out like a light."

Tyler could only stare at him. The captain gestured off the ship. "Off with you, Tyler, I'll be there shortly. Don't leave port just yet. I still have a few things I want to discuss with you."

Tyler nodded, and smiled warmly at him before walking off the ship. Suddenly the jock couldn't keep his balance, and fell heavily. He could hear Zane Galfanan laugh, and told him to take it easy. Tyler stood up slowly, testing his balance, and cautiously strode around the crowded port.

The port was packed with ships of all sizes, and that meant there was hardly any room to walk anywhere. Trying to struggle through the crowd that seemed determined to pull him in the opposite direction, Tyler was making slow progress. Finally deciding to give up, he was about to turn around when he heard a voice.

"Stop her! She has one of them! One of the Shards!"

Tyler noticed three guards, desperately pursuing someone who seemed desperate to get away from them. He couldn't quite see her face, but instinctively yearned to help her in some way. He ran towards where she was heading, the guards still in pursuit, who were calling out to passerby for help. Nobody even gave them a second glance.

"Guards must not be popular here," Tyler muttered to himself.

The girl they were pursuing suddenly slowed, and, as if by some strange twist of fate, turned and looked Tyler straight in the eye. Tyler gasped aloud, seeing her face for the first time.

He recognized her.

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**All right, guys, what do you think about this chapter? As I've said before, I went through some rough patches, but I like the end result. But what do you all think? Please read and review I would really appreciate it. Again guys, I'm really sorry about the long wait, but you can't rush a masterpiece, as some famous guy said...probably. Anyway, not sure when Chapter 8 is going to come about, but hopefully it will be a lot sooner than this chapter was! Remember: READ AND REVIEW! And as always, thanks for taking a few moments out of your day to read my story!**

**IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: WHO WAS THE GIRL THAT TYLER RECOGNIZED? SINCE I, AT THE MOMENT, HAVE NO IDEA, I AM GOING TO CREATE A POLL, SO YOU GUYS CAN VOTE ON WHO YOU WANT HER TO BE. I'LL TRY TO MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY, SO PLEASE VOTE!  
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	8. Internal Struggles

**Hey everybody, ultimateTORINOR here. Here to say that I have figured out who Tyler recognized last chapter. Who is it? I'll give you a hint: it's not Eva, Heather, or Gwen. That's all you're getting. Now onto this chapter. This chapter was pretty easy to write, but I don't know how well I like it. I think I might have rushed it in some spots, but either way, I hope you like it! I don't own Total Drama Island, and without any further delay or interruption, enjoy the next chapter of Shards of a Crystal!

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Day 1: The Grove of Eternal Night

_Justin…wake up…you must…use…your…power…seize…this world…_

Justin woke up gracefully, as he always did back home. Lying on his back, the male model was comfortable, and didn't want to move much at the moment. Since he had nothing better to do, Justin stared up at the sky.

The sun had apparently set already, as the sky was dark, but filled with stars. The total amount of them was staggering, and Justin himself was almost blinded by their radiance.

Defiantly, he thought, _their beauty almost rivals mine. Almost…but then again, nothing can ever truly match me…Justin!_

The male model suddenly had an urge to look at himself, to catch a glimpse of _perfection_. As he had brought no mirror with him, the model was temporarily downtrodden, but then he remembered the shard he had been given. Taking it out of his ripped jeans' pocket, he examined it for a moment. Despite being the black color it was, it still gave off some sort of…energy. Justin tried to figure out the mystery, but stopped shortly after. His brain hurt too much.

Content with looking at his perfect features, Justin was too busy looking at his perfect face and chiseled abs to notice the noises behind him. It might have been the sound of somebody walking towards him, but the male model was so enamored in his own reflection he didn't even notice. As the sounds seemed to be coming from about an area 10 feet behind Justin, they suddenly stopped, as if they were observing him.

Justin continued to stare, and would have stared even longer, had he not heard a voice in his head, shaking him from his reverie.

_Well…done…Justin…you have…successfully…made it to the new…world…my world…our world…_

Justin was speechless, and the voice continued. _You…have ultimate power…at your disposal…_

Justin spoke for the first time. "Ultimate power?"

_Yes…Justin…power that will make…even the gods tremble in fear…_

Justin shuddered. Something inside wanted to instinctively fight this voice, while…another side…of him was willing to embrace all it had to offer.

_Justin…it is all right…I…would…not lie…to you…we…are one…and the same…_

Still, the male model hesitated.

The voice seemed to sense his internal struggle, and said soothingly, _Take your time…I am…not going anywhere…_

Justin could feel the voice depart from his mind. He sighed in relief. Looking at the crystal shard that had promised so much, he didn't want anymore to do with it. Standing up suddenly, the male model went to throw the shard, but unconsciously put it back in his pocket. Justin felt different in a way. He searched his perfect body for any flaws. Other than he was sweating uncontrollably, he couldn't find any imperfection, which was the best news he had heard all day.

"Justin?"

Startled, Justin twisted around, only to find a plain but familiar teen standing a few feet from him. How she got there he would never know, but for some reason he was happy to see her.

"Beth? Is that…you?"

She smiled and nodded. "You remembered my name," she said, blushing.

Justin smiled back at her. "Of course. I always remember a pretty face."

Beth turned even redder at the compliment. Justin smiled inwardly. The male model was in his element. He had been able to his looks to get women to do anything he had ever wanted back home. His parents had called them his "powers". Always, he had used them to get every advantage. It hadn't mattered before. It shouldn't matter now; it shouldn't be any different. But…for some reason, it was.

Justin asked, "Beth, any idea where we are?"

Beth smiled brightly. "No, but this forest is really pretty, isn't it, Justin?"

Justin looked around, noticing for the first time that trees surrounded them. Though these trees didn't look all that different from those back home, Justin could feel something pulling at him, promising him greater sights farther in.

Struggling against this, he pulled his face into a comfortable smile. Awe usually left a fair amount of wrinkles on one's face. "I doesn't look all that special," he commented nonchalantly.

Beth's face fell instantly. Seeing this, Justin hastily corrected himself. "I mean, it's plain, but this forest has its own charm," the male model glanced at Beth and winked, "Kind of like you, Beth."

Beth smiled again, so brightly that Justin thought rivaled even his. Gesturing towards the direction the forest was _pulling_ him in, he asked Beth, "Do you feel something strange in the forest?"

Beth nodded, a serious look crossing her face. "Yeah, it's weird, but I don't think it's bad or anything."

She started to walk away, leaving the male model behind her. Suddenly realizing she was alone, Beth turned to face Justin. "Are you coming? I don't want to be alone here," she said, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

Justin stared at her for a second, then walked over beside her. "Let's go."

As the mismatched pair walked through the forest, they noticed it changing before their very eyes.

The leaves, bright and full in the moonlight, started to change, until they were the color of the palest white. Each one gave off a different glow, a different piece to the puzzle. The trees themselves also seemed to change with their leaves as well, turning pale, seemingly delicate, but every one of them had a strength that neither of the teens could doubt.

Beth was bursting to ask to male model something, and finally she couldn't hold it in any longer. Suddenly stopping, she asked Justin, "What were you doing back in that clearing I found you in? You were talking and mumbling to yourself."

Justin stopped instantly. He answered the question hesitantly, not wanting to give Beth cause to worry, but also to keep it a secret. "I…always have…talked to myself. Before a photo shoot, I have no one else but myself to talk too, and I guess that's where it all started." The male model looked at Beth, and grinned, praying that she would accept his lie without question, as girls always did around him.

Beth blushed, ever so slightly, and fell silent. She could tell he wasn't telling the truth, and why should he? He was a famous model, and she was only a teen who had lived on a farm 90% of her life. She looked at Justin, and for the first time in her life, wished she were more beautiful. Smiling at him, she dropped the topic and they continued forward, the strange feeling of the forest intensifying with every step.

Suddenly, Justin and Beth reached a clearing, where that feeling that had driven them here finally took shape. A form appeared, which drove both Beth and Justin back a step. He was pearly white, like the rest of the forest, and his face was one of eternal calm. He turned to face the pair and motioned them over. Beth instantly went over to him, but Justin lingered a bit longer, before finally going over to him.

The form smiled at them both. _Welcome, to the Forest of Eternal Night. We were foretold of your coming by the forest, saying that it would bring you to us. _

The pale form glanced at them both. _It seems it was right._

Justin scoffed, while Beth looked thoughtful. Seeing that neither was going to interrupt, the form continued to speak in a calm tone. _My name is Porthos. I need you to come back with me. All will be explained. _

He stopped talking, and seemed to be waiting for an answer.

Beth turned to Justin. "We need to go, Justin. This could be what we are meant to do here."

Justin glanced once at Beth, and then at Porthos.

Porthos asked him, _Would you accept my offer?_

Justin nodded, and felt something in the back of his mind protest to such a decision.

Porthos suddenly turned, and walked on, letting Beth and Justin walk behind them. They walked slowly, and the two teens could see the forest getting livelier and livelier, and they saw more of Porthos' kind, except they were all different in some way. Suddenly, Porthos stopped in front of a massive tree.

_Welcome to Paradise,_ he said kindly.

Beth noticed how warm and inviting everything looked, how the light that was reflected off the leaves gave an unearthly aura. She glanced at Justin, and was, for the tenth time that day, blown away by how handsome he was. Life couldn't get any better than this.

Justin looked at the tree himself, and he also thought that it was magnificent. But no matter how beautiful it was; it couldn't compare to himself.

The darkness inside him spread…

**So how was it? Good, bad, something you liked? Please tell me in a review, and my goal is 50 reviews by Chapter 10. I think that can happen, but only if people review! All right, so how did you like Justin's character in this chapter? Did I succeed in making him conflicted? Or did I fail? I think I did okay, but I really need some compliments and reviews, because I am pretty much dead right now. Again, I apologize if this wasn't my best chapter, but I was really trying to make up for the 20 day wait from the last chapter. All right, I think that's everything. I don't know when the next chapter will come out, but until then, thanks for taking a few moments out of your day to read my story! You all are awesome! **

**One more thing: This is for Lindsay fans out there. How pissed off will you be if she isn't with Tyler. Just an honest question. You could answer it in a review, or a PM, I don't really care. Please don't send any death threats either. They're scary...  
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	9. The First Note

**Hey everyone, ultimateTORINOR here, back with another chapter! I know I've been updating like crazy, but that, again, is to make up for the fact that I basically took a month off. Now, onto information about the chapter. I knew who I was going to write about in this chapter from the start, I mean, who else is obsessed with the number nine? Anyway, I'm sorry if this chapter is a bit...weird. I hope you all enjoy it anyway. I don't own Total Drama Island, and without further ado, please enjoy the next chapter of...Shards of a Crystal!

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Day 1: Cid's Laboratory

_Trent…get up…people…are counting…on…you…_

Trent opened his eyes, resting peacefully for a moment. Lying on his stomach, the coolness of the tiles he was lying on felt nice, and they helped the musician stay calm. Still, Trent couldn't help feel as though him and the 21 others had rushed into the job.

_We probably should have thought that through a little more, _Trent thought ruefully.

Trent started to stand, but then noticed his guitar on the ground.

"Oh yeah," the musician reminded himself, "I brought it with me to make sure I had something to do here…"

After checking it over lovingly for marks or scratches the guitar might have picked up on the journey through the worlds, Trent casually strummed a chord; playing guitar was second nature to the teen.

Something in his pocket emitted a brief flash of light, and Trent, puzzled, took the object out and set it on the ground beside him. His shard, given to him by the weird and slightly creepy voice back on Camp Wawanakwa, was a piercing blue, the color swirling and moving inside of it, almost as if something was alive, hiding in its depths.

Trent, however, put the mystery of the shard out of his mind for the moment and played more guitar. The teen started playing random chords and bits and pieces of songs he enjoyed back home, letting the music wash over him. It had always been an outlet for Trent, whenever something was stressing him out he would just sit down and play music, and eventually it would either give him the time he needed to reflect on the problem and solve it, or just to let it go.

However, as Trent played more and more, his shard glowed brighter and brighter with such an intense energy that even the musician himself couldn't ignore it any longer. Setting down his guitar, Trent cautiously studied his now bright shard.

It bathed the entire room in a blue, calming light. Trent thought something in the back of his mind was urging to take it in his hands. His mental defenses breaking down, Trent could no longer resist the attraction the shard seemed to have on him, and he picked it up and held it to his face.

Studying the shard's intense light for a moment, Trent was surprised to hear that the artifact seemed to be mumbling something, in a lot of different voices. Trent found himself straining to hear everything it had to say.

_We are fragments…_

_ We…embody…life itself…_

_ We…are living…but also…not living…_

_ We cause death…and yet we can't exist…_

_ We need you…Trent…_

_ The music…is the tool…but you…are the key…_

_ You…are so close…to releasing us…_

_ One…more…note…_

Trent, without hesitating, without worrying, picked up his guitar once more, but only to pluck a single string. The shard flashed, brighter than it ever had been before, and Trent thought that something was _moving_ inside of it, bubbling over, and then the light got so intense that he had to cover his eyes. Trent could feel the energy peak, and then slowly fade away, seemingly going back into the shard. Cautiously, Trent uncovered his eyes, and then almost dropped his guitar in shock.

He was facing a…_thing_ that seemingly rippled with energy. It had no face, and Trent was unnerved when it turned towards him. The musician found out that he could see through his…creation.

The being took one step towards him, and another, until it was nearly touching Trent. Staring at it, the musician wondered what it could possibly made of, and then it hit him. The being was rippling, and Trent could see bubbles forming inside of it, traveling upwards to the head, where they would disappear. That could only mean…

While Trent tried to form a coherent sentence to communicate with _water_, he heard a voice in his head once again, but this time, it was the voice of a single man, his voice cool and crisp.

_You know what we are now?_

_ Yeah,_ thought Trent, _but this doesn't make sense! You're water! You don't move around and talk to people-_

The voice continued, strong enough to cut him off in mid-sentence. _You must learn to unlearn, and then to learn anew, as the fate of the world depends on the part you have to play. We are water, yes, but we are also beauty. Beauty defines us…it is who we are. Music is beauty, and it…calls…to us, luring us closer to the surface with every note. We will fight; Master, and we will do what you…call us to do. For that is our role…_

The voice paused here, and Trent took this moment of silence to ask a question.

_So_, Trent thought to the voice, _I…control…you to fight…using music?_

The voice answered instantly. _Yes, call us to fight your foes…but remember…_

The voice started to fade away slowly, and the being in front of Trent started to dissolve, slowly, bubbles falling off of it like grains of sand.

_We…need…the music…to fight. When…things are bleakest…call us. Do not…waver…Trent...you have been Chosen._

With those parting words, the voice faded away into nothingness, and the being completely disintegrated, leaving Trent, once again, alone.

Trent stared for a moment at the spot that the being had disappeared from, and then pocketed his shard. He felt a strange connection to it, one that hadn't been there when he had first woken up. Picking up his guitar once more, the musician, having been so distracted by his music and the shard, got his first good look at the room he had woken up in.

Tiles lined the floors, making the room have a futuristic feel to it. Trent glanced at the walls, which were filled with markings he couldn't understand. While Trent was puzzling over the weird markings on the wall, he didn't hear the door in the corner open slowly, revealing a balding man, who looked to be getting on in years and wore an absent-minded expression on his face. Trent jumped as the old man spoke. "Oh, excuse me, I didn't mean to bother you, I'll just be going now."

The strange man started to back out of the room, but Trent called out to him.

"Wait! Where…is here?"

The man stared at Trent for a moment, and then chuckled lightly. Where is here? Why, this is my laboratory. Cid's Laboratory, to give it its' official title." He then blinked, and looked at the teen quizzically. "But you already knew that, yes?"

Trent stared back at Cid. "How could I have known?"

Cid's quizzical expression turned to one of confusion. "You mean," he asked, "You are not one of my assistants?"

Trent just shook his head.

Cid looked shocked for a moment, and then horrified. "My dear boy," he stammered, "I am deeply sorry. I'm getting more and more forgetful as my years pass me by. So, you have never seen or heard of my name before?"

Trent shook his head again.

Cid looked astounded. "Well then, how could you possibly get in here?"

Trent shrugged. "I just…woke up. Here in this room."

Cid simply stared at him. "You…woke up…_here_? My dear boy, do you know what this means?" Cid was starting to light up. An intense fire now fueled his light blue eyes, and the confused look on his face was gone, replaced with one of wisdom and inner strength.

Cid continued, all the while walking away, leaving Trent to catch up hurriedly behind him. Walking through halls filled with doors, each promising something more intriguing and more potentially dangerous than the last. At the end of the extensive hallway, there was a door leading to, by the looks of the sign above it, _Cid's Private Office_. Opening the door, Cid motioned him in first; saying only, "There is someone here who wants to see you."

Trent stepped in, and was amazed at the sight before him.

"Gwen?"

The Goth girl turned towards his voice, and the look of despair that was on her face was replaced with one of relief. Trent walked over to her, and Cid walked in behind him, shutting the door softly.

Trent looked at Gwen in sheer relief. No longer was he stuck in this strange place alone.

"When did you wake up, Gwen?"

She shrugged. "A few hours ago. I met Cid while trying to figure out where the hell I was. The rest of the time, I was answering questions, trying to sate his curiosity on top of figuring out where to go from here."

Trent smiled at her. "Well, I'm here now, that's a start."

Gwen looked at him a moment, smiled slightly, and then turned to Cid, who looked like he was about to burst from excitement.

"We might as well ask him what's going on, not as if we had a choice in the matter."

Cid looked slightly hurt, but started talking anyway. 'Gwen, your sudden appearance had me rattled, but I put it off for coincidence. After all, it isn't as if I never find strange people wandering my hallways. But after I found Trent, who had appeared at around the same time you did, and in the same way…" Cid broke off for a moment, staring into space with an almost dreamlike quality.

Trent raised his eyebrows at Gwen, who merely shrugged. "Get used to it," she mumbled, "He does that a _lot_."

Cid suddenly launched back into conversation. "So, naturally, I concluded that you two came from the same place, from a different world, more likely…"

He stopped again, and Gwen muttered, "His mind is probably _overflowing _with possibilities."

Trent smiled at her. He liked her sarcastic manner, and how she seemed to always speak her mind. He would have continued that train of thought further, but Cid was back with them again.

"The crystal went to another world, didn't it?"

Trent hesitated, but Gwen pulled something out of her pocket and gave it to Cid.

He stared at it, at a loss for words.

"This is…oh…I…Crystal…"

He undoubtedly would have incoherently babbled more, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Cid quickly gave Gwen's shard back to her, and answered the door. "Yes?"

A young man in a white lab coat addressed Cid with the utmost respect. "Master Cid, Lucien's delegation is in the main hall, and they want to talk to you."

Cid looked away, and told the young man to tell the delegation he would be with them shortly. Sighing, he turned back to the two teens, who were both looking at him in confusion.

Trent asked the obvious question. "Who is Lucien?"

Cid sighed again, looking very old at the moment. He answered wearily, "Lucien is the reason the Crystal left the world in the first place. I fervently pray that neither of you ever meet him. Do not worry, I will not tell them of your secret, for I…" He paused for a moment, wiping his eyes, "I know full well what they do to them…"

Gwen and Trent smiled at him, and Cid managed a small smile in return. "Now, do not leave this room, for you will draw attention immediately. I will come back when the coast is clear."

Walking to the door, Cid opened the door slowly, walked out, and shut it behind him, never making a sound.

Trent and Gwen looked at each other. All they could do now was hope.

And Pray…

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**So, how was it? I hope some of you liked it. I think this chapter got a little confusing at some parts (at least it was for me writing it), but I hope you could get the gist of what was going on. Please, if you could, review this chapter. I've spent a lot of time the past two days writing it, and I like reviews. This marks the first chapter where a camper uses their respective shard to actually _do_ something, not just have a conversation in their head with it. Onto a question: Did you know I based Trent's "power" off of a video game character? I thought it would fit well with who Trent is, so I stuck with it. All right, I think that's it, please remember to review this chapter, and I don't know when I'll be starting Chapter 10 (double digits!). Probably sometime soon. Anyway, thank you for taking some time out of your hectic days to read my story! You guys are awesome!**


	10. A Quest for Answers

**Hey everyone, ultimateTORINOR here, saying that I didn't give up on this story, contrary to popular belief. I'd also like to say I'm really, really, really sorry, and I should've said something. Since I expect that many of you are either mad and/or don't care about this story anymore, I guess I'm the only one to blame for that. But, I sincerely hope you'll give this story another chance. Anyway, since I know it's been a while since you've even looked at this story, this chapter requires some backstory. Remember in Chapter 6, when the miner told Heric Graun about a flash of light in a mine? Well, this is a continuation of that plot line. Just so we're all on the same page. Anyway, I really hope you enjoy this chapter, even though none of your favorite characters are in it. And, even though I'v let a lot of you down, if you could review that would be amazing, and it would make my hours of writing worth it. Do I need to say I don't own Total Drama Island if there are absolutely no elements of TDI in this chapter? Well, I don't won it anyway. Happy Reading!**

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The Mulka Mine, as it was told to little ones around the fires, was filled with monsters of the most evil manner. The storytellers invented monsters that could turn you to stone with a glance, or even suck out your soul if you got too close…

Of course, these are but tales told to amuse and scare, as well as to prevent children from wandering where they should not go, as the little ones often seem to do.

The truth of the matter was the Mulka Mine was not monster infested. The mine itself held the important title of being the grand city of Nabudis' only supplier of copper, iron, and in rare spots, steel. Between the miners, there were even legends of veins of what could only be described as pure _magic_ in the lowest levels of the mine itself.

But of course, no one who ever went down to those fateful lower levels ever came back to tell about it. So, those tales of magic and monsters could only remain as they were. Stories to tell in whispered conversations, or even at the potential funeral at an unfortunate miner who hadn't come back from his expedition to figure out the legends, and become a hero.

Of course, these days, heroes only belonged in fairy tales. If there were such things as heroes, they would have already shown themselves, and the once radiant city of Nabudis would not have had to suffer as it had the past year.

But no matter how bad the city folk had it within the city's walls, the miners had it worse.

When the city folk had little to eat, the miners had next to nothing, scrounging on the little rations they were given by the "gracious" King Lucien.

A miner's life was a hard life, after all.

They, as a rule, were never dealt a hand of prosperity or good fortune.

Fate was seemingly never kind to them. This, coupled with the ever-present despair that they would never rise above this poverty, made miners working at this particular mine anxious for gold riches, or even just a hasty glimpse of it, away from the familiar sights of darkness and hardships.

Well, one of them anyway.

Scarcely a day ago, the old miner Grik went missing. Most assumed that he had "taken the plunge", or in other words, attempted to find the "magic" on the lowest levels of the mine.

In fact, the miners were right in the middle of preparing a funeral service for the unfortunate old miner, when a discovery halted their plans.

Found when one young miner decided to look at Grik's last journal entry, the last page mystified miners of all ages.

_Dear Diary,_

_ A strange thing happened. A great flash of light appeared while I be working my shift. Deep in the mine, it was. The lower levels, perhaps? This could be the mumbo-jumbo that's got the king riled up these days. Perhaps he'll have a coin for old Grik, eh? I'll be leaving this life for good!_

Needless to say, this journal entry caused a slight uproar with some of the more overzealous miners.

"Damn that Grik!" one miner shouted bitterly.

"He'll have taken all the reward for himself," another complained.

However, there were those certain miners who applauded Grik's attempt to escape to leave this life behind.

Finally, one miner suggested the inevitable tactic: to investigate the strange flash of light themselves.

Of course, that would mean to venture to the lower levels of the mines, where no one had ever come back alive.

To investigate a flash of light that could possibly have been the delusions of an old man.

Nevertheless, a team of five miners was chosen to attempt this daring quest.

And, on the same day that they had found the old miner's journal, and apparently the day after the strange light appeared from the depths of the mine, the five brave miners, each with a lantern in hand, entered the pitch-black entrance of the mine.

And, of course, they were armed with their trusty pickaxes. To the miners, being without one was like being without an arm.

The rest of the miners gathered just outside the mine's darkness, and wondered if they would ever see them again.

A few wondered what the flash of light could possibly mean.

And one particularly imaginative miner named Faros thought that the flash of light in the mine brought two humans from another world for a purpose: to save the world. That those two humans had a power, power that could be for good, or for evil. That particular power could be used to defeat an evil ruler, or help him achieve world domination.

Faros thought about that scenario for a moment, and then let it slip through the cracks of his imagination, to where all of his "absurd thoughts" (as the other miners called them) went.

However, this wasn't an absurd thought at all.

In fact, he was completely right.

The five miners chosen for the expedition descended into the caverns of Mulka, intent on finding the source of the flash of light, and what importance it could have. Also, a possible reward lingered in their minds, a promise of fame that the discovery promised that allowed them to take step after step; to proceed further and further into the mines.

They eventually made it to the archway that led into the core of the cavern itself.

Glancing uneasily at each other, the miners noticed the particular feeling of discovery and fame fade away rapidly, leaving them with only their raw courage to press on.

One miner motioned towards the arch with his lantern, which was the only thing keeping the natural darkness of the mine at bay.

"Do we really have to go down there?"

A silly question, really. The miners were at the precise point that is commonly labeled as "the point of no return". To return back now would label them cowards, and life would become insufferable for all of them. On the other hand, if they delayed their descent much longer, their lanterns would not last the potential trip back up.

That would mean they would be stranded in the mine with no light to guide their way back to the surface.

In short, it was a death sentence.

It was this thought that propelled the largest miner forward, and it was the fact that he had been first that made the other four also step forward.

The largest miner summoned his courage, and started the long trek downwards, towards sights that had never been seen by those still alive. The other four, reassured mightily by his show of bravery, also descended, taking are not to rush a step, for they were a long ways up, and there was only empty air on either side of them.

It was a long way down.

While climbing down the treacherous path, the miners had completely different thoughts about the trials that potentially lay ahead of them.

The foolish one (the one who had spoken at the archway) thought constantly about the safety of the surface. He thought of the sun, and the light that it gave off. He also occasionally remembered the times where the sun had blinded him because he had stared into it too long (he was not the smartest of miners). Of course, this daydreaming made it impossible to concentrate on his steps, which, it can successfully be argued, were much more important than remembering when you were blinded by the sun.

The miner with the long nose could not stop thinking how dreadfully high up they were, and how it seemed (to him) that they were never getting any lower. His fears kept preying on his mind; he couldn't keep from glancing side to side, over the edges of the abyss. When it was probably smarter to be watching his footing.

The blind miner followed obediently, thinking how strange it was that the miners were hesitating over lunch. Although, he had to admit, the lunch line seemed much longer today. And, for some reason, he needed a lantern and pickaxe to eat. The blind miner shook his head, and kept staring straight ahead, into the infinite darkness that consisted of his world.

And yet, somehow, he was stepping quite accurately down the ledge, and never once making a costly error that would plunge him, probably most unexpectedly, to his doom.

The fat miner, coincidently, was moaning to himself about the lunch he was missing. Even if it was only going to be a crust of bread, if that, he _hated_ to miss meals. As if it was agreeing with his sentiment, his stomach grumbled loudly. The fat miner then proceeded to have a conversation with his stomach, which mostly consisted of, "We'll be back soon" and "You'll get your fill soon enough". Which, of course, is an odd thing to do at any time, but especially if one is many, many feet up in the air, where one wrong step could send you plummeting to your doom.

The largest miner, at the front of the group, was not concentrating on the sun. He was also not concentrating on how high up they were, or why the lunch line was so long. He was also _definitely _not carrying on a conversation with his stomach. What the largest miner was thinking of was, in short, the mission. The act of placing one foot in front of the other, and making sure he didn't get distracted. He was determined to survive this trial, and become a legend in his own right.

With the aid of his bright lantern, the largest miner saw, in the distance, a point where the abyss simply disappeared. A place where the ground was ground, and they wouldn't have to worry about making that one wrong step.

Not risking the dangers of turning around, the largest miner called out, "Men, halt where you are."

He heard the shuffling stop behind him, so he figured that they had done as he had asked.

He continued, and tried to be the definition of a fearless leader. "Men, we're going to be reaching the end of this abyss soon. The light that Grik saw probably flashed around here somewhere, and we're going to find it. But, remember, it's only a light. Take _no_ unnecessary risks."

The blind miner responded back. "All right, but this seems silly. What's a flash of light got to do with _lunch_?"

The largest miner turned around to question this odd statement, but the words died on his lips, as he noticed something even more troubling.

The other three miners that had been a part of the team were nowhere in sight. And since he was reasonably sure that they had followed him down to the lower parts of the caverns, there was only one possible explanation for what had happened.

And that explanation wasn't pretty.

With a mighty effort, the largest miner pulled his mind away from that depressing thought, and, in an act of kindness, direct the obviously confused miner to safety.

While it wasn't a long distance, the largest miner breathed a sigh of relief when they made it back onto solid ground. He glanced back at the treacherous ledge, and then at both of their lanterns. The way it looked, they were going to have to find the source of light soon.

The blind miner said, to nobody in particular, "I hope there's some mashed potatoes today."

The largest miner, despite the gravity of their situation, laughed uproariously, and then looked around at their surroundings. The last time they'd had mashed potatoes was...wait, what were mashed potatoes?

Deciding that some things were better left not thinking about, the largest miner surveyed their surroundings.

From where they now stood, there were three paths. Two led left and right, and the last led straight into the wall beside them.

The largest miner paused here, as if sensing that this decision would cause either the success or failure of the mission.

The left and right options seemed to glow with a strange power. In fact, they seemed to _literally_ glow. Whispers of fame and glory reached his ears, and while he felt drawn towards them, he felt, in his heart, that he shouldn't listen to them.

The blind miner, however, had no such reservations. Getting up, and slowly walking off to the left, the blind miner shuffled away, without a single stumble or wrong placed step.

The largest miner cried out to him, "Stop, man! Think of what happened to the others!"

The blind miner paid no attention to his words, and instead, said clearly, "_They_ are promising me…great things. _They_ will give me what I want most. _They _will grant me my sight."

The largest miner called out again, desperate to dissuade his companion. "That is all a lie! Do not listen to it!"

The blind miner simply walked away, and traveled swiftly towards the glowing power. Soon, however, he was lost to the largest miner's sight.

The largest miner stared in disbelief in the direction the blind miner had exited in, half expecting a death cry of some sort.

It never came.

Sighing, the largest miner looked towards the last path.

With resignation, he started down the ominous road through the crack in the wall.

"Rod," he asked himself, "How do you get yourself in these situations?"

With no one left alive to answer that question, the only thing to do now was to continue on.

The passageway Rod walked through was nothing special. It was the normal cramped, dark, and ominous sort of passageway.

However, it did not last this way for long.

Rod himself could not believe his eyes when the cramped and dark passageway gave way to a room.

The room in question was apparently one where the rocks gave off an eerie glow.

However, despite that startling fact, Rod was not focusing his attention on the walls of this strange room.

He was staring at the center of the room.

Where a boy and a girl lay, sleeping peacefully.

Rod blinked, and then blinked again. However, even after that _second_ blink, the two figures were still lying prone on the cavern floor.

Hurriedly, now filled with a sense of purpose, Rod walked over to the pair, and checked, obviously, to see if they were still alive. Men with more worldly experience than a pair of kids had met their end in this mine.

However, despite his initial disbelief, the two were alive, and sleeping peacefully.

Rod's mind spun. Neither teen wore any sort of clothing that he could recognize, and if their reaction to his desperate shouts was any indication, they were really heavy sleepers.

He sighed, and looked back through the crack in the wall, and then back at his two charges.

This was not going to be easy.

* * *

**So, how was it? Was this a welcome addition to the chapter? And, I'd like to point out that I've finally reached double digits! Even though it was months after I originally planned to reach it...**

**Anyway, I ended with another mystery! So, just who exactly are those two teens? Remember, they're a boy and a girl. I already know who they are, but I'm adding a poll to see what you guys think! **

**If you review, and you've stuck with this story for so long, I truly thank your dedication. I'm so sorry for making you wait three months for an update.**

**The reason for that being Total Drama the New Challenge, a competition story that I started a few months ago. It took longer than expected to get it off the ground, and I apologize. **

**But, this chapter is done! I don't know when the next chapter will be done, and I won't give you an estimate. This is only to be fair to you guys. I can definitely say that it will be after the third elimination of TDNC!**

**Until next time, guys and girls!**

**Thanks for reading and if you could review that would be absolutely amazing!**


	11. Three Separate Stories

**Hello everyone, ultimateTORINOR is finally back with another update (and to say that I am not dead)! I'm really, really sorry for the long wait, but we can all put that behind us...until you realize that it's probably going to be another long wait for the next chapter.**

**...I'm sorry, everyone, I really don't know what else to say. I hope you're all right with the slow procession of things, but I can see if you're not. **

**Anyway, I'll not waste your time any longer up here. I don't own Total Drama Island, and I'll see you at the bottom!

* * *

**

_**All of these events are on Day One…**_

_Somewhere…_

Owen, as if some voice in his head had been bothering him to get up, jerked awake suddenly, a look of terror on his face.

However, it wasn't long before that look disappeared, as he clutched his head in pain.

"Great galloping _gumdrops_, where am _I_?"

"Lik not supposed to tell you that."

The lovable oaf screamed, and shrank away from the direction of the strange voice; in the process of doing that, he found out that he was in a small cell of some sort.

"Please don't eat me!"

A giant silhouette of a man, only being visible from the light of a torch across the way, came up to the bars and peered in.

"Lik told that _that_ what we going to do…but you don't want that…so we can't do it now…it wrong…"

At those innocent words, the lovable oaf confined in the cell breathed a gigantic sigh of relief.

"Lik! Is the prisoner awake?"

The giant of a man Lik turned to face the source of the new voice. "Yes, Lord Crump, he woke up a minute ago. "But, he said he don't want to be eated!"

The new voice condescendingly answered.

"Lik, the whole point of our evil scheme is to eat them _when _they don't want us to."

The giant scratched his head. "Otherwise it not evil?"

"Otherwise, it's not evil."

Another man, one that was significantly smaller in stature than the giant Lik, now approached the bars of the cruelly small (in Owen's case) cell.

"It's time I got another look at the prisoner…is he afraid, Lik? Is he afraid of _death_ at the hands of a boiling pot?"

The giant took one look at the lovable oaf's cowering form and silent scream of terror, and then glanced down at his significantly smarter superior.

"He looks _really frightened_, Lord Crump. Like I am when the lights are off!"

The smaller man sighed, and took out a ring of keys from his pocket, beginning the process to unlock the cell door.

"Yes, Lik, the rest of the men and I are well aware of your _darkness _phobia."

And, suddenly, the cell door swung open, leaving no trace of the protective barrier that separated the lovable oaf from the _vicious cannibals_.

The shorter Lord Crump grinned savagely.

"Hello, my _deliciously plump friend_, I believe that now-"

However, the rest of his obviously _evil _speech was cut off as Owen did what he always did when e was scared and in the open…_run away screaming in terror_.

The lovable oaf immediately bowled over the shorter man, but then found out that his terror-filled run was going to be cut significantly shorter than what he had planned.

Because a significantly larger (even for _Owen_) Lik stood in the door, and didn't even budge when the scared teen ran straight into him, which instead sent Owen to the floor, effectively stunning him.

Lord Crump, after shakily getting up and dusting off his expensive attire, glared viciously at Lik, who looked utterly confused at the turn of events.

"Get him up to the _cooking chamber_! I will be there shortly!"

Owen protested with all of the strength he could muster (which wasn't much at the moment), but it proved to be futile as Lik effortlessly hoisted him over his shoulder and carried the unfortunate teen away down the corridor, Owen's continuous scream of terror the only thing lingering behind.

Lord Crump was about to follow after he regained his composure, however, something caught his eye in the dim torchlight, as he was about to leave.

Upon bending down to closely examine to object that had so enraptured him, the small but intelligent cannibal saw that it was a shard of some sort of crystal or rock.

And, as he picked up the artifact, Lord Crump felt a surge (or was it more of a shock?) of power run through his body.

_My word_, the intelligent cannibal thought to himself, _it appears that the boy has more to him than meets the eye…

* * *

_

"The boy", at that exact moment was currently hanging by his ankles above a gigantic pot of boiling water, screaming like a banshee.

Actually, he was more like extremely overweight banshee.

"I'm too young to die and be eaten! For the love of everything good and tasty, _get me down_!"

Lik, at the controls, was attempting to calm him down.

"Death be quick in the pot. There are only a few screams, nothing more."

Unsurprisingly, that set off the lovable oaf to scream at an even more hysteric level.

Lord Crump entered the cooking chamber, Owen's shard in hand and an anticipating gleam in his black eyes.

The small but intelligent man cringed at the incessant shouting coming from the lovable oaf.

"Quiet, you fool!"

Owen, despite his predicament, stopped his shouting and crying in terror, but tears continued to run down (or, in this upside down case, _up_) his face.

Lord Crump leaned over the railing, and stared the lovable oaf straight in the eyes.

"Now, before you _take the plunge_, boy, I need to ask you _one _simple question…"

Owen docilely nodded.

Crump nodded back approvingly, but before he could open his mouth again, Lik had excitedly interrupted.

"Boss, can _Lik _ask the question this time! Lik _never_ do it!"

The intelligent cannibal sighed. "Lik, you asked the question _last time_. It's my turn _this time_.

"Oh. Lik forgot."

"You usually do, my friend. You usually do."

Owen, who by this point was _very curious_ to what the question might be, could hardly contain himself.

However, the lovable oaf didn't have to wait long, as Lord Crump turned back to face him and the giant boiling pot of water and _horrible death_ directly below, a strange expectant smile now plastered on his face.

"Ahem. As you were the sole audience in this…what did you think of _our performances_?"

Owen looked justifiably shocked at this question, and a tiny (but hopeful) smile had emerged.

"You mean…you're _not _cannibals?"

Lord Crump looked positively shocked at that question. "Good heavens, no! Lik and I are simply actors!"

The giant man fiddled with the controls for a moment, bringing the lovable oaf back to safety and away from certain death.

"Lik good actor."

Lord Crump smiled genially at his large friend. "You certainly are, my most excellent cohort!"

Owen, after landing painfully on the floor after being released from his shackles, sat up and laughed in relief.

"Great Gatsby, that's good news! I thought I was going to be boiled alive!"

Both small and large actor smiled at this statement.

"So, we…convincing?"

Owen laughed again. "I was going to have a _heart attack_!"

Lord Crump smiled and raised his arms up triumphantly. "That sounds positively deadly…_wonderful_! Oh, what a joyous day!"

Owen's stomach grumbled loudly, stopping all celebration for a moment.

The lovable oaf chuckled weakly. "I don't suppose you have any…food?"

Lord Crump nodded at his newfound friend. "Certainly, my friend, we have plenty of food stored up here and there!

"But where are my manners? I don't believe we've been properly introduced! I, as our script might have suggested, am Crump, world-famous actor extraordinaire!"

The smaller man suddenly pointed at the large and friendly giant beside him. "And that's Lik, who I found some years ago stranded out in the middle of nowhere! He's not quite right in the head, but he does make a fine traveling companion…not to mention that he's quite the actor himself!"

Lik cackled happily. "Lik good actor!"

"I'm Owen!" the lovable oaf exclaimed excitedly.

Crump smiled good-naturedly, and held out his hand to shake the large teen's hand, but Owen disregarded the hand and suddenly hugged the small actor, as if he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"You don't know how glad I am to see that you both aren't vicious, man-eating, cannibals!"

Crump attempted to return the hug, but quickly found out that there was _no way_ his small and skinny arms could cover the teen's massive frame.

"I'm glad you're glad, Owen! But, there's one thing that we both want to ask you before we eat…"

Owen immediately set Crump down, and the smaller actor winced slightly before opening his mouth again. "Well, it's quite lonely on the road to Nabudis and the _mighty_ _King Lucien_…just the two of us…and we were wondering if _you'd_ like to join our little troupe of actors!"

The lovable oaf shouted excitedly, "This is going to be _awesome_!"

Lik cheered happily. "Lik go make good meal for buddy Owen!"

Crump and Owen watched as the giant man sprinted out of the cooking chamber excitedly, hollering to no one in particular as he went.

Suddenly, an apologetic look appeared on the smaller actor's face.

"I hope you'll forgive us for scaring you, Owen. We found you next to this abandoned structure that is our _current home for the next few days_, and we couldn't resist attempting a new play idea!"

Owen laughed again. "Don't worry, I get scared all the time! Except when I'm eating, of course!"

Crump laughed an easy and relieved laugh along with his new traveling partner, and then glanced at the shard in his hand. "That reminds me…I found this in the cell we put you in…is this yours?"

Owen glanced at the shard for a moment, and then snapped his fingers in recognition.

"I remember that thing! Of course it's mine! It was given to me by this _really weird _voice in the ceiling…who probably was a little messed up upstairs _if you know what I mean_…"

Crump nodded and dropped the shard into the waiting teen's hands, and turned away.

"Take some time to explore this place, Owen! Lik has a good, strong voice, so you'll know when the food is prepared!"

Owen nodded jovially at the smaller actor's back and watched him go. Well, his first few hours in this…new world…didn't go as badly as one could've thought (especially since it was _Owen_ we're talking about), but it would be nice to know what to do.

Maybe this King Lucien would help clear things up…

The lovable oaf glanced at the shard that had chosen him in the secret cave on Wawanakwa Island.

As he did so, he heard a voice in his head, and the shard's voice said the exact same words that had haunted his dreams…

_Rip…Tear…Kill…Rip…Tear…Kill…_

Owen glanced away hurriedly from his shard, which was dark brown in color, and put it in his pants pocket.

He didn't want to look at it any longer than he had to…because, truth was, and Owen was scared of this tiny shard resting in his pants pocket…

He was more scared of it than he was of flying in a plane.

And _that _was certainly saying something.

* * *

"Get up, you lazy_ layabout_, _get up_!"

Cody, still in a deep and shard-induced slumber, didn't budge until the speaker kicked him swiftly in the stomach.

And, as the gap-toothed teen opened his eyes wide and sucked in a breath, he saw that the offender was smirking viciously.

"Well, well, look who's finally awake. I'm going to have to use _that _technique more often!"

Cody glared up at smirking figure, and in that quick glance the technology-whiz saw that it was _actually _a red headed and tan skinned teenage girl around his age was the kicking culprit.

On closer inspection, the tech whiz noted that she was wearing armor of some sort, and she _definitely _wore a look of "hard to get" on her face.

_Well,_ he thought, _Let's see if the women here are as susceptible to the Code-ster as the girls back home…_

"Do you work out at all? Because that kick was really-"

Cody was cut off as the teen girl yanked him to his feet in one deft motion, pulling out a long and wicked blade from seemingly nowhere.

The tech-whiz obviously froze instantly.

The teen girl eyes had flared the color of her hair, and had a hateful glare on her face.

Unfortunately for our friend Cody, it was directed right at _him_.

"One more word…_just one more_…and I'll _cut your throat_. Do you understand?"

Cody gulped and nodded, completely certain that she would keep to her word.

The teen girl nodded and withdrew her blade. "Good. Now, if you can just stay silent for the rest of your _miserable existence_…I think we'll get along just fine." The tech-whiz nodded again, relieved that she had put her deadly weapon away.

"Where are you supposed to be right now?"

Cody honestly didn't know how to answer that question, since he didn't even know where he was in the first place.

And since he couldn't talk (under the threat of death), the tech-whiz simply shrugged in response.

"What do you mean 'you don't know'?"

Another shrug.

"Stop doing that!"

Cody nodded to her rage-filled request.

"All right…you can talk…but only to answer my questions!"

Cody nodded again. "All right."

"Do you really not know where you are right now?"

Cody looked around, and saw beautiful paintings adorning the walls, statues of the same guy littering the ground, fancy tiled floors with even fancier carpets, and stained glass windows that depicted such beautiful scenes that he couldn't bear to look on them for more than a few moments, for fear that he would break down and weep.

"I _wish _I knew where I was…this place is _beautiful_…"

The red headed teen girl smirked slightly. "You're in the Royal Palace of King Lucien."

The tech-whiz blinked at this statement, but heard a small voice belonging to his shard in his head.

_Get out of there…Cody…get out now…before it's too late…_

Cody summoned what was left of his confidence (which was left in tatters after the little knife incident), and glanced around the corridor they were currently in.

"Is there an exit to this palace anywhere? Because I just found out that I…have…to go…"

The teen girl laughed for a moment, and then grinned savagely. "But…you only just got here…I could take you around to see the sights…and I'm sure King Lucien would be quite happy to see someone _like you_!"

Cody began to nervously back away, stuttering incoherently.

Finally, he gave up on the subtlety, and just turned on his heel and ran like there was a killer after him.

Which, in the tech-whiz's case, was probably somewhat true.

Cody did his best to block out the snarling and the vicious pounding of feet behind him, and tried to find anything that even faintly resembled a door to freedom from this apparently _evil _palace.

Turning a random corner, the tech whiz felt his heart sink as he faced a stained glass window in the distance with, oddly, no doors on either side of the corridor.

It was a dead end.

Cody raced on, however, as he definitely, under any circumstances, could _not_ stop.

He hoped that he could come up with a plan, but he felt his hopes dim and then finally die as he neared the stained glass window, noticing that an expanse forest used to lay below, but _someone_ had obviously not liked some of the trees there.

On an unrelated note, there was nothing to help him fight off this predator viciously chasing him.

Hearing soft footfalls on the carpet behind him, Cody turned, and found himself no more than twenty feet away from his pursuer, who by this point in the chase was grinning savagely and twirling her wicked blade around expertly.

She laughed, a cruel sound that seemed to echo in the tech whiz's ears long after it had faded from the plane of reality.

"There's nowhere left to run…"

Cody racked his brains more furiously than he ever had before, hoping for some inspiration to magically hit him.

No such magic was forthcoming, unfortunately for the tech whiz.

The cornered teen looked at his red headed and quite frankly _scary_ pursuer, and then at the stained glass window.

She seemed to catch his glance at the window, for she cocked her head to the side quizzically, her blade pausing in mid-twirl.

"What are you planning, _assassin_?"

The last word caught Cody completely off guard. "I am not an assassin!"

The blade began spinning once again, and slowly the red headed teen girl crept forward, an anticipating smile emerging once again on her face.

"Denial will do you no good…"

Cody, in a panic to avoid the deadly blade, turned on his heel with one obvious goal in mind…_run_.

However, as soon as she saw the tech whiz even motion slightly towards retreating, the red head sprinted towards him, with only one thought racing through her brain…_personally end the threat_.

As she ran toward the threat that was Cody, the red headed soldier pocketed her blade in one clean motion, and then _leapt _for the tech whiz, whose face by now was a picture of pure horror.

However, the red head teen girl forgot how close they actually were to the stained glass window.

And, as the vicious tackle began, both victim and predator noted, at the exact same time, that their combined momentum would carry them not to the waiting _carpet_ that represented safety, but instead through the _window_ that represented almost _certain death_.

And as their combined momentum sent them clear through the glass (which wasn't as tough as you might think), the two teens realized that they had just crossed the point of no return.

And then they began to fall.

"Assassin, if we're both going to _die_, I'm going to have the pleasure of ending your life _personally_!"

Cody, locked in a dead man's hold, simply stared back at her, and uttered one simple word in response.

"…Why?"

This simple question left the red headed teen girl dumbfounded for a moment, and then their fall was immediately slowed as they both hit tree branch after tree branch, before finally hitting the ground hard.

And, the two of them simply lay there for a few hours, unmoving.

No one found them, and oddly, no one found the smashed window, or even complained about the draft that had seemingly intensified from yesterday.

It was almost as if the entire world was standing still, waiting to see what had become of the two of them.

And slowly, just as the Bright Orb in the Sky was beginning to set, Cody began to stir, as if in answer.

Groaning softly, the tech whiz opened his eyes slowly, as if he didn't expect to ever open them again. He then tested out both arms and both legs, and was relieved to find that they still all worked.

After standing up slowly, Cody realized that he had been extremely lucky on the fall down; had his fall not been broken by small number of trees by the palace walls, it most certainly wouldn't have gone this well for him.

But, then the tech whiz realized that he was in an entirely new world, with no previous knowledge other than 'it was suffering'.

Probably not one of his more thought out moves, but…he had always wanted to make a difference in the world…

Only problem was, Cody had no idea where he was right now, had no idea who anybody was, and that he was reasonably sure that _the_ someone was in the castle that he had so hastily left.

Looking in no particular direction, Cody decided that the first order of business was to get away from here as fast as he could, if the…_really weird_… voice in his head was any indication.

However, before he could take more than a couple steps in safety's direction, a voice belonging to the very same person who was responsible for them falling out of the window spoke up.

"_Assassin_…_"_

Cody turned to face the voice, and found the red headed teen girl lying merely a few feet from him.

Branches were stuck in her vibrant hair, and her green eyes that were occasionally flared up with anger now reflected pain.

This was probably because she had not been so lucky on the way down as Cody had been; her leg twisted in a very awkward and obviously very painful way.

Cody, while trying to remain unafraid, couldn't help but shake slightly as he remembered the spinning blade and wicked smile.

"Are you hurt?"

The teen girl shrugged slightly, and she struggled to answer through the obvious discomfort her leg was bringing her.

"I think my leg is broken…"

Her green eyes pierced Cody's teal ones. "I'm hurt…I'm not going to be able to move without help…"

The tech whiz, however, was not about to trust his would-be murderer so easily. "What about your sword?"

The teen girl nodded to an area a few feet from where she lay. "Broke after the fall."

Cody nodded slowly, and walked towards her cautiously, ready to immediately jump away if she did try anything, even with her apparently broken leg.

However, the red head teen girl simply looked impatient that he was taking so long in her time of need.

Cody, after battling the horrific images of him being mercilessly killed by an obviously unstable teen, finally reached the red haired teen girl and held out a hand for her to take.

"I'm Cody."

The red haired girl said nothing, but she slowly accepted his hand up; Cody was faintly surprised to find that, even in her armor, he could quite easily lift her off the forest floor.

The teen girl soldier winced mightily, and leaned heavily on the tech whiz's shoulder for support.

Cody, after seeing her legitimate pained look up close, scanned the partly decimated forest for any sign of refuge.

"…There's a hut not too far from here…and the forest is _deadly_ at night…"

The red headed female soldier pointed at a spot nearly straight ahead of them through the trees.

The tech whiz certainly was hesitant to trust the person who had wanted him dead merely hours ago, but the approaching darkness and the word 'deadly' set him in a swift walk.

On the way to where the young soldier had pointed, however, he might as well try to make conversation.

"So, what's your story?"

The red haired, armor wearing girl stared at him for a moment.

"I am a loyal soldier of King Lucien. I am a loyal soldier who fell injured…_and _lost my weapon… while pursuing a target, who most likely was a threat to my liege."

She turned her face away from him as they slowly struggled along.

"I know…I know the price for such failure…and when the time is right…I shall return to the castle and accept my punishment."

Cody, understandably, could think of nothing to say after this.

Thankfully, the uneasy silence between the two…traveling companions…was broken when the promised hut appeared right in front of them.

The teen girl glanced at the tech whiz for a moment. "We can rest here for the night."

Cody nodded, and opened the door, ushering his "charge" inside.

The hut, as the tech whiz quickly discovered, was nothing like his home back in the old world, having one simple bed, a table, and a chair.

The teen girl nodded wearily towards the bed. "I _really _need to sleep."

Cody faithfully directed her onto the bed, and then took a seat on the lone chair.

"I need some answers…and _you're_ going to give them to me."

The red haired teen girl looked at the tech whiz for a short moment, and then laughed mockingly.

"Why would I help an enemy of my liege?"

Cody uncharacteristically hardened his gaze significantly. "Because if you _don't_, I'm going to leave you here…and you'll never get back to the palace for your 'punishment'."

The teen soldier smirked again. "I wouldn't make too much noise during the night…I was able to hear some of the screams from the palace some nights if I listened closely enough…"

She turned over, and the tech whiz stared at her back, wondering if she was joking.

Somehow, this teen girl resting in front of him didn't seem like the "great sense of humor" type.

"Will you at least tell me your name?"

She turned back to face him, eyes still closed. "…_Leliana_…"

Her ragged breathing eased then, and Cody realized that she just drifted off to sleep, leaving him alone in a strange world…with still no answers.

Not to mention, he had been literally thrown out of a window, and now was currently trapped in a small hut with a teen girl who probably wouldn't hesitate to kill him.

At this moment, Cody reached into his pocket and took out his shard for the first time, and amazingly the sacred object had survived the fall.

After running his hand over the smooth surface, Cody felt that his shard felt strangely…_empty_.

Almost like it was missing something.

Sighing, the tech whiz put his shard on the table.

That would be a mystery for another day.

After glancing at the floor with a slightly distasteful look on his face, Cody half-heartedly glanced at the already occupied bed, but very quickly thought better of it.

Sighing, he tried to ease back in the chair…only to fall over backwards painfully, hitting his head and breaking the chair in the process.

"Ow…"

Suddenly, a vicious howl sounded not too far from the pair's hut, and Cody froze instantly amidst the wreckage of the chair.

Perhaps the floor wasn't a bad place to sleep after all.

Before he, too, drifted off into an uneasy slumber, the tech whiz found himself staring at Leliana's face.

At that moment, there was certain innocence to her, a quite surprised at the sight of the teen girl, who had viciously pursued him with a drawn sword, was now breathing easy.

Cody had one last thought before he let the darkness of sleep overcome him finally.

_This world is really, really weird…

* * *

_

Geoff, unlike most of his Total Drama cohorts, awoke peacefully, as if it was another day back in the old world.

Opening his eyes, the party guy noticed, if the open sky was any indication, that he was no longer in the cave that he was last night.

Which could only mean one thing…

"New world, baby! Geoff is _pumped _to be here, man!"

Glancing around at his surroundings, which turned out to be a grassy little island surrounded by water, Geoff unfortunately found out that he was, in fact, alone on his little island.

Falling to his knees in agony, the party guy cried out in anguish.

"I'm _alone_! Why would you do this to me, weird voice in the sky! C'mon, it's me, Geoff, one of the _Chosen Ones_? The people who are supposed to save the world and all that? What's with all the solitude, man?"

The party guy, as if to only follow along with the trend of the story, heard a voice in his head suddenly.

_Geoff…you'll see some of you're friends some enough…but is that exactly what you want?_

Geoff, after thinking about the strange question posed for about a quarter of a second, answered.

"Heck yeah!"

_…I shall grant your wish, Chosen One. Take me out of your pocket and step into the water._

Geoff, being the person he was, immediately did as the mysterious-talking-shard-that-he-had-just-met-a few-moments-ago said, and jumped-for Geoff never _stepped_-into the water.

As soon as his body came in contact with the liquid, the party animal noticed that something was terribly, terribly wrong. He found that it was getting harder and harder to move his limbs around. _Finally_, Geoff realized that he could no longer move, as he was now encompassed in a now frozen body of water.

_Uh, dude_, he thought to his ever-present shard, _I'm stuck._

_You wanted to meet your friends, Chosen One. I merely gave you the means to do so. _

_ That's great and all, man, but…can I change my answer?_

The shard was silent for a moment.

_I'm…truly sorry…_

And then it said no more, leaving Geoff to fend for himself inside the ice.

If Geoff could have been capable of screaming at that moment, it's safe to say that he probably would have.

* * *

**Well, how was it? I doubt it was worth this long of a wait, but at least it's something, right? I'd appreciate it immensely if you'd review, as always!**

**Now, onto other business...**

**School is really picking up, so updates will be sporadic, at best. Those of you who also read TDNC, this will probably apply, as well (although, it's getting there).**

**The next chapter will also take a longer time...as it's my goal to introduce every other character by the end of the next chapter! Wish me luck!**

**Thanks everyone, and until next time!**

**-ult**


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